Hungry civilians are reportedly eating animal feed as women and girls face a “gender emergency” in war-torn Sudan, UN officials said on Thursday.

Particularly hard hit is El Fasher, where hunger is growing, with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warning of a deteriorating situation that is putting even more civilians’ lives at risk.

UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq disclosed the alarming shortages of food in the war-torn country on Thursday at the UN Headquarters in New York.

“With increasingly alarming food shortages and spiralling prices, people in El Fasher are reported to be resorting to eating animal feed in what is an increasingly catastrophic situation,” Haq said.

READ ALSO:US Justifies Sending Migrants To South Sudan

El Fasher has the highest cost of basic goods nationwide at nearly $1,000 per household per month, which is far beyond the reach of most families.

This includes more than $700 for food alone, more than eight times the cost of basic food items in other parts of the country, Haq said.

“These steep costs, coupled with the siege and lack of aid delivery by road for over a year, have left thousands facing starvation,” he added.

He noted that engagement around the calls from the Secretary-General and the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator for a pause in the area is “more important than ever”.

READ ALSO:Over 1.3 Million Return To Homes In Sudan – UN

Similarly, OCHA’s Director of Operations and Advocacy, Edem Wosornu, who is currently in the country, said the suffering was immense, with people trapped, displaced or returning to face communities in ruins.

She called for unimpeded access and urgent support to reach those on the frontlines of hardship.

Warnings also came from UN Women, the gender equality agency of the UN.

READ ALSO:At Least 19 Dead In Sudan Army Plane Crash

“This crisis is a gender emergency,” Salvator Nkurunziza, the agency’s representative in Sudan, said.

“Displaced women and girls can be subject to the risks of exploitation and abuse, especially during the delivery of aid, where protection mechanisms are weak or absent in some locations.”

NAN

A train derailed in the southern Iranian province of Kerman on Friday, injuring more than two dozen people though no deaths were reported, according to local media.

“Thirty people were injured when a train derailed on the Kerman-Zarand railway path,” Babak Mahmoudi, head of the Red Crescent Society’s Relief and Rescue Organisation, told the Mehr news agency.

A statement from the public relations office of the national railway body carried by the Tasnim news agency reported that after “the timely arrival of railway technical personnel and rescue forces, all passengers safely exited the train”.

READ ALSO:Family Of Five Killed In Iranian Missile Strike After Fleeing Ukraine For Safety In Israel

Train derailments are not uncommon in Iran, and while they do not generally result in deaths, there have been fatal disasters in the past.

In June 2022, 21 people were killed and dozens were injured when a train derailed near the central Iranian city of Tabas after hitting an excavator beside the track.

In 2016, two trains collided and caught fire in northern Iran, killing 44 people and injuring scores.

AFP

A brush fire in a mountainous area north of Los Angeles triggered evacuations in two US counties, scorching nearly 5,000 acres (2,000 hectares), authorities said Friday.

At least 10 zones in Los Angeles and Ventura counties were under evacuation orders, with 2,700 residents displaced as of 11 pm (0600 GMT) Thursday, Ventura County Fire Department spokesperson Andrew Dowd told AFP.

At least 400 personnel have been deployed to contain the fire, according to Dowd.

The blaze erupted as firefighters battled a separate wildfire — California’s largest of the year so far — which raged for an eighth straight day and engulfed more than 99,000 acres in the Los Padres National Forest, threatening hundreds of homes.

READ ALSO:10 Die, 33 Missing As Floods Hit Northwest China

The latest fire has so far burned 4,856 acres and remains zero percent contained, Dowd said.

LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents the area, urged residents to heed evacuation guidelines.

“The #CanyonFire is spreading fast under extreme heat & dry conditions near Ventura–LA County line,” Barger wrote on X.

“If you’re in Santa Clarita, Hasley Canyon, or Val Verde, take evacuation orders seriously — when first responders say GO, leave immediately. Keep aware–please don’t risk lives.”

READ ALSO:Outrage In Los Angeles As Residents Demand Reason For Wildfires

The fires follow a July blaze that scorched more than 70,000 acres and needed hundreds of firefighters to contain it.

Fire authorities at the time noted that dry brush, sustained winds and high temperatures were fueling the flames.

That came after several earlier fires, stoking fears of a difficult season in a state still reeling from wildfires that killed 30 people in January.

Earlier this week, Zurich-based reinsurance giant Swiss Re said natural disasters caused $135 billion in economic losses globally in the first half of this year, fuelled by the Los Angeles wildfires.

AFP