A UN-backed global hunger monitor confirmed on Monday that famine has engulfed al-Fashir and Kadugli, two besieged Sudanese cities ravaged by the two-and-a-half-year civil war between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese army. Al-Fashir, North Darfur's capital, fell to the RSF after an 18-month siege that severed food supplies, forcing desperate residents to scavenge animal feed and hides for survival. This marks the first IPC classification of full-scale famine in these urban centers, following earlier declarations for displacement camps like Zamzam in August 2024.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the gold standard for hunger assessments, highlighted how the conflict's ethnic violence and blockades have displaced millions and spiked malnutrition rates. In al-Fashir, community kitchens became drone strike targets, exacerbating the crisis; fleeing residents arriving in Tawila showed universal child malnutrition and adult emaciation, according to MSF coordinator Sylvain Pennicaud. International Criminal Court prosecutors are now probing alleged mass killings and rapes post-fall, while Red Cross leaders warn of Darfur's tragic history repeating itself.

Kadugli, South Kordofan's capital under siege by RSF-allied SPLM-N forces, faces similar horrors, with nearby al-Dalanj teetering on famine's edge despite data gaps hindering confirmation. The broader Kordofan region, a strategic war flashpoint bridging RSF-held Darfur and army-controlled territories, has seen livelihoods collapse, prices soar, and displacement surge. A grim video emerged Monday showing RSF beating three Red Crescent volunteers in North Kordofan, who were later killed—the group denies involvement in such summary executions.

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Nationwide, acute food insecurity eased slightly to 21.2 million people—45% of Sudan's population—thanks to army gains stabilizing central areas, per the IPC's September 2025 analysis. Yet Darfur and Kordofan deteriorated sharply, with Tawila, Mellit, and Tawisha at imminent famine risk for al-Fashir refugees. Global aid slashes and bureaucratic hurdles have crippled UN and NGO responses, leaving aid convoys stalled and services curtailed amid the chaos.

Sudan's government, aligned with the army, has lashed out at the IPC's findings as biased, but the report underscores the war's humanitarian catastrophe. As fighting intensifies, calls grow for ceasefires and unrestricted aid access to avert wider famine. Without intervention, these cities' plight could foreshadow a national collapse, testing the international community's resolve in one of the world's most neglected crises.

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