UN agencies appeal for $4.1 billion to aid starving civilians in warn-torn Sudan

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South Sudan opposition leader issues warning

Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin reports on the developments in South Sudan and its impact on the war in Ukraine on ‘Special Report.’

• The UN humanitarian aid and refugee agencies have appealed for $4.1 billion to support Sudanese civilians during a war between rival generals.
• U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said there is an urgent need for peace and support for rebuilding lives among displaced families.
• The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs seeks $2.7 billion for aid inside Sudan, while UNHCR requests $1.4 billion to aid those who fled.

The U.N. humanitarian aid and refugee agencies appealed Wednesday for $4.1 billion in international support for embattled civilians in Sudan amid signs that some may be dying of starvation after nearly a year of war there between the forces of rival generals.

In their joint appeal, the refugee agency, UNHCR, and the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that half of Sudan’s population, or some 25 million people, requires support and protection. They said the requested funds would go to help millions of civilians in Sudan and others who have fled abroad.

"They have lost so much," said U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, who recently met with displaced families in Sudan and neighboring Ethiopia. "Time after time, we hear the same message from them: We want peace so we can go home, and we need support to rebuild our lives."

US SANCTIONS 3 FIRMS OVER DIRECT CONNECTIONS TO SUDAN CIVIL WAR

"They desperately need help, and they need it now," Grandi added.

Sudanese displaced people gather at a refugee camp outside the town of El-Fashir in the Darfour region of Sudan during a visit by U.N. officials, on July 1, 2004. The U.N. humanitarian aid and refugee agencies appealed on Wednesday for $4.1 billion in international support for embattled civilians in Sudan amid signs that some may be dying of starvation after nearly a year of war there between the forces of rival generals. (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo, File)

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs organizes the often-struggling aid response inside Sudan. It is calling for $2.7 billion for the U.N. and its partners to reach some 14.7 million people. UNHCR is seeking $1.4 billion to help nearly 2.7 million people who have fled into five neighboring countries.

Martin Griffiths, the head of OCHA, said the office's appeal last year for just under $2.6 billion was less than half-funded.

U.N. officials have urged the world to pay attention to the suffering caused by wrenching conflicts in places like Sudan, Congo, Afghanistan and Myanmar and to ensure the wars in Ukraine and Gaza don't overshadow the needs of civilians elsewhere in the world.

STARVATION DEATHS REPORTED IN SUDAN CIVIL WAR, UN FOOD AGENCY SAYS

The United Nations says the war in Sudan has killed at least 12,000 people, although local doctors groups say the true toll is far higher. Over 10.7 million people have been displaced, according to the U.N. migration agency.

The U.N.'s World Food Program says some 18 million people across Sudan currently face acute hunger, with the most desperate trapped behind the front lines of the conflict. Some 19 million children are out of school, the U.N. says.

Sudan slipped into chaos after soaring tensions between military chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan and Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, exploded into open fighting in mid-April in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere across the country.