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Big surge in south Sudan hunger Big surge in south Sudan hunger
(about 1 hour later)
The number of people needing food aid in south Sudan has quadrupled in a year to more than four million, the UN's World Food Programme says.The number of people needing food aid in south Sudan has quadrupled in a year to more than four million, the UN's World Food Programme says.
A minister said this amounted to about half the total population. The WFP wants to ensure the people have enough food to last until their next harvest in October.
The huge surge has been caused by increasing conflict and drought, the WFP says. Southern Sudan's agriculture minister Samson Kwaje blamed the surge on internal conflict and drought.
Southern Sudan is slowly recovering from a two-decade civil war with the north, and remains one of the least developed parts of the world. The region is recovering from a two-decade civil war and remains one of the least developed parts of the world.
Last year, some 2,500 died in conflicts between rival communities in Southern Sudan - far more than in Darfur, the UN says. Although the civil war with the north ended in 2005, some 2,500 people died in conflicts between rival communities in Southern Sudan last year - far more than in Darfur, the UN says.
Tension is escalating in Sudan before elections due in April - the first national multi-party elections in 24 years. Since the end of the war, millions of former refugees have returned home to start their lives again from scratch.
Mr Kwaje blamed the hunger on those internal conflicts, as well as incursions by the brutal Lord's Resistance Army, originally based in Uganda but which now marauds across several countries.
The new figure comes from an annual assessment in which some 2,000 people across Southern Sudan were asked about what food they eat and where it comes from.
The WFP's Leo van der Velden said: "This spike in the number of hungry people in Southern Sudan comes just ahead of the rainy season when roads become blocked and communities are cut off from food assistance."
Tension is escalating in Sudan before elections due in April - seen as the first national multi-party elections in 24 years.
SUDAN'S STRUGGLING SOUTH Southern Sudan All Sudan Population: 7.5m to 9.7m Population: 42.2m Area: 640,000 sq km Area: 2.5m sq km Maternal mortality: 1,700 deaths per 100,000 births Maternal mortality: 1,107 deaths per 100,000 births Access to clean water: 50% Access to clean water: 70% Life expectancy: 42 years Life expectancy: 58.92 years Sources: CIA, UN, UNFPA