Crop failure, drought deepen humanitarian crisis in North Darfur, aid group says
KUTUM, Sudan, Oct 7 (Reuters) – Deteriorating humanitarian and health conditions in North Darfur’s Ain Siro area are threatening thousands of families following widespread crop failure and shortages of water and livestock feed, a regional displaced persons group said on Wednesday.
Communities across Kutum locality depend heavily on rain-fed agriculture and livestock rearing, leaving households vulnerable as drought compounds the strains of Sudan’s broader conflict.
Adam Rojal, spokesperson for the General Coordination for Refugees and Displaced Persons in Darfur, told Sudan Tribune that conditions are rapidly worsening for both longtime residents and displaced populations sheltering in the area.
Dwindling water supplies and fodder shortages have depleted herds and killed livestock, while available wells face unsustainable pressure from incoming displaced civilians, Rojal said.
He noted that erratic rainfall led to a near-total collapse of the harvest, stripping farming families of their primary food supply and market income.
Rojal criticized the absence of regular humanitarian aid deliveries to Ain Siro, warning that prolonged isolation could push the area into catastrophe.
”What is happening in Ain Siro cannot be viewed merely as an agricultural or seasonal crisis,” Rojal said, emphasizing that drought has hit food, water, livestock, and local livelihoods simultaneously.
He urged United Nations agencies and international donors to dispatch emergency field assessments and deliver food, clean drinking water, medicines, and well-drilling support before the shortfall escalates further.