Starvation, ghost towns' plague Sudan as al-Burhan demands RSF surrender

"The head of the government-aligned Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) has insisted the war, now deep into its third year, will only end with the surrender of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan's maximalist stance against the rival paramilitary forces comes as the war-torn nation faces a collapsing humanitarian response, with starvation and displacement under fire rife, and intensifying battles that are turning villages into ghost towns."

"In the city of Kosti, south of Khartoum, thousands of families are sleeping rough, surviving on little more than bread and boiled lentils. Al Jazeera's Mohammed Val, reporting from White Nile state, described a grim situation where nearly 12 million people across Sudan are living in limbo. Some say they feel safe here in Kosti, but their stomachs are empty, Vall reported."

General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan insists the conflict will end only with the Rapid Support Forces' surrender and rejects political compromises that do not include RSF disarmament. He framed a military solution as one that can end with surrender and the laying down of arms. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate ceasefire amid what the UN describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Starvation, displacement, and intensified fighting are emptying villages in Darfur and Kordofan. In Kosti thousands sleep rough on minimal food, nearly 12 million people across Sudan live in limbo, and local capacities face critical shortages of food and medicines.

Read at www.aljazeera.com