Sudan, Pakistan, Lebanon
Today's three stories you should know
Sudan
Hunger has reached famine levels in two more areas of western Sudan’s Darfur region, the world’s leading food monitor said, as a grinding war between the Sudanese army and the U.A.E-backed Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group continues. In an alert, the U.N.-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification said famine thresholds for acute malnutrition were passed in the contested areas of Um Baru and Kernoi. More than 50 percent of children under 5 in Um Baru are suffering acute malnutrition, it reported. The conflict, which erupted in April 2023, has pushed tens of thousands of people into hunger.
More from Al Jazeera here.
Pakistan
Pakistan’s military says it has concluded a weeklong operation against separatists in the Balochistan region in response to a coordinated string of attacks by the rebels, during which they carried out simultaneous suicide and gun attacks on police stations, security facilities and civilian homes. In a statement, the army said it had killed at least 216 fighters from the Balochistan Liberation Army. Ethnic separatists have been fighting the Pakistani government in Balochistan, the country’s largest and poorest province, for decades.
More from Reuters here.
Lebanon
Israel is stepping up air strikes on southern Lebanon in a “clear and dangerous” surge, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), which said more attacks were carried out in January than in any previous month since Israel ostensibly agreed a ceasefire with Lebanon’s Hezbollah group more than a year ago. “These attacks – as well as the many ground incursions that continue to happen away from the cameras – have deemed the ceasefire agreement little more than ink on paper,” Maureen Philippon, NRC’s country director in Lebanon, said.
More from the NRC here.
Devastating update on Um Baru and Kernoi. The 50% acute malnutrition rate among under-5s is honestly staggering even by Sudan crisis standards. Famine spreadin this fast across Darfur shows how RSF siege tactics combined with aid blockages create weaponized hunger. I remember covering similiar patterns in 2023 but this acceleration is worse than projected.