The Weaponization of Hunger: History Repeats in Darfur
CASE A: Sudan’s Famine as Reported by DW The Deutsche Welle article, referencing the UN, frames the escalating famine in Darfur as a consequence of the ongoing civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). It highlights the sheer scale of the crisis – 'five million people facing emergency levels of hunger,' with predictions of a humanitarian catastrophe. The
language points to generalized conflict and 'blocked aid access' as the primary drivers, creating an image of tragic, indiscriminate suffering. CASE B: The Consistent Pattern of Weaponized Famine Compare this to historical instances where famine served specific political or military ends. In the 1980s, the Ethiopian government under Mengistu Haile Mariam was widely accused of exacerbating famine
in Tigray and Eritrea, using food as a weapon against rebel-held regions (New York Times, 1991). The tactic involved restricting aid, displacing populations, and destroying agricultural infrastructure – actions eerily similar to reports from conflict zones today. More recently, in 2011, the UN warned of 'catastrophic food insecurity' in parts of Somalia, coinciding with a period where al-Shabaab
militants actively blocked aid delivery and seized food supplies (BBC, 2011), while international recognition efforts for the Transitional Federal Government were underway. Records show that during the 1990s, the US government imposed sanctions alongside an arms embargo on Sudan, creating significant economic pressure that impacted food security for years (CRS Report, 2007). These instances are