WASHINGTON

Nearly 18 million people in Sudan are facing acute hunger because of an ongoing war, an official from the UN food agency said Wednesday.

"This is equivalent to the entire population of the Netherlands and more than double the number at the same time a year ago," World Food Program (WFP) spokeswoman in Sudan, Leni Kinzli, told reporters virtually.

Kinzli said close to 5 million are in emergency levels of food insecurity and since the start of the conflict, the WFP has provided life-saving assistance to more than 5 million people, especially in eastern and northern Sudan.

"But this is only barely scratching the surface compared to the immense needs of what we are seeing on the ground," she said.

The WFP, alongside the entire humanitarian community, is urgently urging all parties for a humanitarian pause, said Kinzli.

"In just two days, we will mark eight months since war erupted across Sudan. That's eight months of horror, violence, displacement, and immeasurable suffering that the Sudanese people have had to endure in what has become one of the world's worst humanitarian crisis," she said.

Sudan has been mired by fighting between the army, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the ruling Sovereign Council, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

At least 12,260 victims have been killed and more than 33,000 injured in the conflict, according to UN figures.

A humanitarian crisis continues to worsen as nearly 6.8 million people have fled their homes seeking safety in Sudan or neighboring countries.

Several cease-fire agreements brokered by Saudi Arabia and US mediators have failed to end the violence.