Sudan’s historical famine echoes through latest hunger crisis

Sudan’s collective memory has long carried stories of famine-induced tragedies. Now, as war pushes the country deeper into a catastrophic food crisis, historians and humanitarian activists fear that some of those horrors are being repeated.The ongoing war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which erupted in April 2023, has plunged the country into one of its worst modern food crises, with conditions deteriorating sharply since 2024.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Erdogan slams Israel’s ‘genocidal mindset’ in blistering UN addresslist 2 of 3‘Deadly hazards’: Behind Sudan gold mine collapse, a wartime desperationlist 3 of 3Undeterred by fines, Al-Shaair pays tribute to Palestinian girl Wafaa Akilaend of listSudan has endured severe famines before, often triggered or made worse by drought and other environmental shocks. However, the current hunger crisis, which has triggered famines in Sudan in 2024 and 2025, has been brought on by a man-made factor: war.Past starvationOne of the earliest recorded major food crises in what is now Sudan occurred in 1684, during the Funj Sultanate. The crisis, which lasted several years, brought severe grai...