Two UN officials warned that the humanitarian situation in Sudan “still represents an absolute disaster” and that conditions across the country are “horrific and worsening day by day.”

This came during a session held by the United Nations Security Council today, Tuesday, to discuss the situation in Sudan, where it received briefings from both Edem and Sorno, Director of Operations and Advocacy at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and Stephen Omollo, Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme.

Sorno stated that 26 million people in Sudan are suffering from acute hunger, “which is equivalent to three times the population of New York City, but filled with hungry families and malnourished children.”

She noted that people are continuing to flee, with 10 million people forced to leave their homes due to violence, hunger, and deprivation. This includes 726,000 people displaced within and outside of Sennar State in the southeast of the country since June 25, after the advance of the Rapid Support Forces into the state, “meaning the displacement of three-quarters of a million people within just six weeks.”

The UN official said, “Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, which was once the heart of the country, is now in a state of ruin.”