Two-thirds of S.Sudan faces acute hunger: officials

Nearly two-thirds of South Sudan's population, some 7.9 million people, face acute hunger, authorities said Tuesday, amid a resurgence of fighting between government and opposition forces. "An estimated 7.9 million people will face high levels of acute food insecurity.

Additional resources are urgently required," said acting agriculture minister Lily Albino Akol at a press conference to release the latest food security report compiled by the government, the United Nations and NGOs. Four counties in Jonglei and Upper Nile states were at risk of famine, the UN said, with 2.2 million children under five projected to be acutely malnourished. South Sudan gained independence in 2011 but soon descended into civil war and remains mired in extreme poverty and insecurity.