Holiday Ayo - For the first time in nearly two years of war, public kitchens in Sudan were forced to turn away people asking for food.

This is due to the termination of aid by the administration of United States President Donald Trump.

“People will die because of this decision,” said one Sudanese fundraising volunteer, who has struggled to find money to feed tens of thousands of people in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.

"We have 40 kitchens across the country that feed between 30,000 and 35,000 people every day," another Sudanese volunteer told AFP, Thursday (13/2).

He said all public kitchens were now closed, after Trump announced a freeze on foreign aid and the closure of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

"Women and children are being turned away and we can't promise when we'll be able to feed them again," he said, requesting anonymity for fear that speaking publicly could jeopardize his job.

Since April 2023, Sudan has been devastated by war between its regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

The war has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced more than 12 million people.

The war has also plunged five regions of the country into famine and nearly 25 million people into acute food insecurity.

In most parts of Sudan, community-run soup kitchens are the only thing preventing mass starvation, and many of them depend on US funding.

"The impact of this decision to suddenly withdraw funding has consequences that could cost lives," Javid Abdelmoneim, head of the medical team at Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in the city of Omdurman, told AFP. 

“This is another disaster for the Sudanese people, who are already suffering from violence, famine, the collapse of the health care system and a woeful international humanitarian response," he added. 

Last month, shortly after his inauguration as US president, Trump froze US foreign aid and announced the dissolution of USAID. 

His administration later issued waivers for "life-saving humanitarian assistance." However, so far there is no sign this will apply in Sudan and aid workers say their efforts have been hamstrung.