1988 Sudan famine

Famine in Sudan (1988) 1998 Sudan famine Bahr el Ghazal in South Sudan 2015.svg Bahr el Ghazal 1988 Sudan (esp. Bahr el Ghazal) famine 250,000+ The 1988 famine in Bahr el Ghazal, Sudan, also called cok makurupDiing Joseph Moving for Survival: Oral Histories of Famine and Labour Migration in the Darfur–BeG Borderlands World Peace Foundation 2025-12-05 https://worldpeacefoundation.org/blog/moving-for-survival/ 2026-07-03 was a large humanitarian disaster in Bahr el Ghazal which killed around 250,000 people. The famine was caused by looting, raiding, displacement, killing, and abduction of Dinka by government funded Arab Muraheleen. Background The famine happened during the Second Sudanese Civil War which had started after the breakdown of 1972 Addis Ababa Agreement. The Government of Sudan (GoS) and Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) clashed heavily with each other. The war was also marked by increasing ethnic violence between different South Sudanese tribes. The Sudanese government was using notably brutal Baggara militas to squash the rebellion in the south.Darfur in Flames: Atrocities in Western Sudan: BACKGROUND https://www.hrw.org/reports/2004/sudan0404/3.htm www.hrw.org 7 March 2026 Causes Government of Sudan The Sudanese government actively denied humanitarian organisations access to South Sudan and made it significantly harder for non-governmental organizationss (NGOs) to operate in Southern Sudan. The GoS also made a decision in 1986 which allowed local army commanders and government officials to misappropriate and obstruct food relief.Denying "the honor of living": Sudan, a human rights disaster 1990 Africa Watch Committee New York, NY 0929692535 The GoS funded the Muraheleen, which were tribal militias primarily composed of Rizeigat and Messiria tribes from the Darfur region. Mureheleen were especially targeting Dinkas as they were regarded as the civil base for SPLA operations. Muraheleen were usually moved to Wau using trains. There they conducted raids on Dinka villages taking villagers as slaves and burning the villages.Analysis of Nine Conflict Areas in Sudan https://www.sudanarchive.net/?a=d&d=SLPD20030500-01.1.46&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN%7CtxTI%7CtxAU----------- 7 March 2026 May 2003 The 1988 Sudan floods also decreased the aid going to Southern Sudan as it was diverted back to Khartoum.January 6, 1989 International Notes Health Assessment of the Population Affected by Flood Conditions -- Khartoum, Sudan https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00001323.htm live https://web.archive.org/web/20010219105126/http://www.cdc.gov:80/MMWR/preview/mmwrhtml/00001323.htm 2001-02-19 2020-10-15 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report US Centers for Disease Control Sudan People's Liberation Army The SPLA denied possible humanitarian aid by laying siege on government garrison towns and blocking relief efforts to Juba.FAMINE IN SUDAN, 1998 https://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/sudan/SUDAWEB2-71.htm#P2474_470141 www.hrw.org 7 March 2026 The SPLA also shot down relief airplanes and attacked road and river convoys of humanitarian aid. The SPLA obstructed or distorted commercial food markets and prevented famine-stricken populations from searching in the bush for wild foods. These policies combined made the civilians vulnerable to large-scale famine. Effects The famine decimated the population of Bahr el Ghazal and especially Dinka tribes were affected by the fighting. The Dinka called the famine cok makurup meaning hunger of collapse.Politics, Power and Chiefship in Famine and War – Rift Valley Institute https://riftvalley.net/publication/politics-power-and-chiefship-famine-and-war/ 7 March 2026 United Nations estimates that during the famine which happened from 1986 to 1988 between 400,000 and 500,000 thousand people died of which 250,000 thousand did during 1988. The famine also displaced three million.Morris John K. Distributing Food Aid as a Civilization is Dismantled: The Case of Sudan Refuge: Canada's Journal on Refugees 1 April 1994 14 1 26–32 10.25071/1920-7336.21802 https://refuge.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/refuge/article/view/21802 7 March 2026 en 1920-7336 free The Famine In Sudan, And The Human Rights Abuses That Caused It https://www.hrw.org/legacy/campaigns/sudan98/testim/house-03.htm www.hrw.org 8 March 2026 The famine was followed by heavy rainfall from 1990 to 1991, this caused crop failure and worsened the ongoing situation. The 1988 famine also paved way for the 1998 famine in Bahr el Ghazal in which 70,000 ended up dying. Operation Lifeline Sudan Operation Lifeline Sudan The devastation of the famine lead to the formation of Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS). It was a large coordinated relief effort between UNICEF the World Food Programme (WFP), as well as 35 other NGOs.OPERATION LIFELINE SUDAN: The work of UNICEF and the World Food Programme https://www.un.org/av/photo/subjects/sudan.htm 8 March 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20040612012055/https://www.un.org/av/photo/subjects/sudan.htm 12 June 2004 OLS was described as a UN "umbrella organization" that would grant both diplomatic legitimacy and operational capacity to humanitarian aid distributed to both sides of the Civil War.Taylor-Robinson S D 2002-02-01 Operation Lifeline Sudan Journal of Medical Ethics 28 1 49–51 10.1136/jme.28.1.49 11834761 1733537 0306-6800 free The agreement also established "corridors of tranquility" Which allowed safe transportation and distribution of essential food aid. See also 1993 Sudan famine 1998 Sudan famine Food insecurity and famine in South Sudan References Category:20th-century disasters in Sudan Category:1980s famines Category:1988 disasters in Africa Category:1988 in Sudan Category:Famines in Sudan Category:Second Sudanese Civil War