Khartoum: At least 46 people, mostly women and children, have died from malnutrition in Sudan's South Kordofan state over the past two months, Sudan's Doctors Network said Saturday, as the war-torn region faces worsening hunger and medical shortages.

According to Anadolu Agency, the network reported that its teams monitored 46 deaths due to malnutrition during July and August, most of them women and children. The network highlighted the urgent need for supplementary nutrition for more than 19,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women.

The group condemned the use of starvation as a weapon of war, labeling it a crime against humanity and a war crime under international law. They emphasized the dire humanitarian situation in the cities of Kadugli and Dalanj. The network accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of maintaining a siege on civilians, denouncing the continued blockade and urging for the immediate lifting of the siege to allow unrestricted delivery of food and medicine.

The network called on local, regional, and international authorities, the World Health Organization, and all relevant humanitarian agencies to intervene immediately to save the lives of pregnant and breastfeeding women and children before it is too late.

Clashes between the Sudanese army and the RSF have intensified across Sudan's three Kordofan states in recent months. The conflict, which erupted in April 2023, has resulted in over 20,000 deaths and displaced over 14 million people, according to the UN and local authorities. Independent research from US universities, however, estimates the death toll at around 130,000.