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Hunger increasingly used as weapon of war as ‘food-related violence’ surges, analysis shows

The Guardian · 🇬🇧 public United Kingdom · · 606 words · By Mark Townsend
Conflict-Driven Food Insecurity Weaponization of Hunger International Humanitarian Law
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What to know about Conflict-Driven Food Insecurity

Hunger is being increasingly exploited as a weapon of war with more than 20,000 documented incidents of “food-related violence” in the past eight years, new analysis reveals.

Claims checked 13
Techniques found 1
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Right coverage
Left20%
Center80%
Right0%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Hunger is being increasingly exploited as a weapon of war with more than 20,000 documented incidents of “food-related violence” in the past eight years, new analysis reveals.

Why it matters

Attacks include 1,261 strikes on markets used by families for daily groceries and 863 incidents in which food distribution systems were targeted and workers killed.

Common ground

The analysis looked at the period since UN resolution 2417 unanimously condemned the deliberate starvation of civilians in 2018.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/may/24/hunger-weapon-of-war-…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 13 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 4
info Single Source 3
schedule Pending 3
help Insufficient Evidence 2
verified Verified 1
info
Claim 1: “Researchers discovered 1,909 military strikes on farmland, and another 563 on water infrastructure vital for crops, which affected food security in more than 42 countries and territories.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific numbers (1,909 strikes on farmland and 563 on water infrastructure) are not found in the provided evidence snippets, although general reports of water infrastructure attacks exist.
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web search NEUTRAL — there have been several reports of attacks targeting civilian water infrastructure, including treatment plants, distribution systems and dams. Such events ...
https://idrawater.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/UN-World-Wa…
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web search NEUTRAL — Water well and desalination plant are hit during air raids, A water well and a desalination plant in Al Mokha District, Taizz, Yemen are hit during air raids.
https://www.worldwater.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Water-…
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web search NEUTRAL — the irrigation ditches are full of water” indicating that crop damage was occurring even. 217 where water supply was sufficient54. Nearby, it was reported ...
https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-8379513/v1.pdf
verified
Claim 2: “UN resolution 2417 unanimously condemned the deliberate starvation of civilians in 2018”
VERIFIED
Multiple authoritative sources confirm that UN Security Council Resolution 2417 was unanimously passed on May 24, 2018, condemning the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare.
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web search NEUTRAL — On May 24, 2018, the United Nations Security Council (“UNSC”) unanimously passed a historic Resolution 2417 (2018) acknowledging the deliberate starvation ...
https://starvationaccountability.org/news-and-events/un-secu…
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web search NEUTRAL — May 19, 2021 ... Following the White Paper briefing on South Sudan in 2018, the UNSC swiftly passed resolution 2428, imposing an arms embargo, targeted sanctions ...
http://opiniojuris.org/2021/05/19/pandemic-of-hunger-symposi…
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web search NEUTRAL — This was a resolution on the link between armed conflict and food insecurity. It strongly condemned the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, ...
https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/un_documents_type/secu…
info
Claim 3: “States with the highest recorded incidents are the occupied Palestinian Territory with 9,013 attacks, followed by Yemen – 1,863 incidents – and Sudan, where food was targeted in 1,605 strikes.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific breakdown of attacks by country (Palestine 9,013, Yemen 1,863, Sudan 1,605) is not independently corroborated in the provided evidence snippets.
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web search NEUTRAL — Full text of "Official Year Book of the Commonwealth of Australia No. 54, 1968". See other formats. OFFICIAL YEAR BOOK OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA No.
https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_PjDJrAHoxmsC/bub_gb_PjDJrA…
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web search NEUTRAL — The highest number was in 1893 (82) and the lowest in 1900 (51). Of those ... No execution seems to have taken place since 1863. Denmark.—Sentence of ...
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/33127/33127-h/33127-h.htm
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web search NEUTRAL — ... 1605 anchored 1606 anchoring 1607 anchors 1608 ancient 1609 anciliary 1610 ancillaries 1611 ancillary 1612 ancilliaries 1613 ancilliary 1614 ancor 1615 ancr ...
https://www.ics.uci.edu/~dmdb/chandra/Enron2.1/words.txt
schedule
Claim 4: “Between October 2023 and the end of 2025, more than 10,300 people were killed or injured trying to access aid.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
help
Claim 5: “Syria, which saw 1,538 incidents, many attributed to government or Russian military forces before the fall of the Assad regime”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided or found in the search results to verify the specific number of incidents in Syria or the attribution to Russian/government forces.
info
Claim 6: “Attacks include 1,261 strikes on markets used by families for daily groceries and 863 incidents in which food distribution systems were targeted and workers killed.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the general context of food-related violence is supported by one source, the specific numbers (1,261 strikes on markets and 863 incidents targeting distribution) are not independently corroborated by the other search results provided.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 5 days ago · The meaning of THERE is in or at that place —often used interjectionally. How to use there in a sentence. There vs. <span class ...
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/there
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web search NEUTRAL — THERE definition: 1. (to, at, or in) that place: 2. to arrive somewhere: 3. to succeed: . Learn more.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/there
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web search NEUTRAL — Define there. there synonyms, there pronunciation, there translation, English dictionary definition of there. in or at that place: The book is over there. Not to be confused with: their – possessive c…
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/there
schedule
Claim 7: “Conflict remains the primary driver of hunger, accounting for more than half of all people facing severe hunger.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 8: “Data compiled by Insecurity Insight uncovered 21,403 incidents in 15 countries where food supplies have been deliberately targeted since 2018”
CORROBORATED
The specific figure of 21,403 incidents in 15 countries since 2018 attributed to Insecurity Insight is explicitly mentioned in the web search results.
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web search NEUTRAL — ... food security and livelihoods (high confidence). The frequency of sudden food production losses has increased since at least mid-. 20th century on land and ...
https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6…
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web search NEUTRAL — Data compiled by Insecurity Insight uncovered 21,403 incidents in 15 countries where food supplies have been deliberately targeted since 2018, when the UN security council unanimously passed a resolut…
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/may/24/h…
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web search NEUTRAL — Food Security Update | World Bank Solutions to Food Insecurity. Current state of food security in the world. Facts and statistics about food insecurity, its causes and challenges, geographic data and …
https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/agriculture/brief/food-se…
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Claim 9: “the main market in the town of Ghubaysh, West Kordofan, appeared to have been deliberately targeted by the military”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources identify the location of the drone strike as the town of Ghubaysh in West Kordofan, Sudan.
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web search NEUTRAL — 4 days ago · A local rights group says a drone strike on a market in central Sudan has killed 28 people and wounded dozens more.
https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/28-killed-drone-…
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web search NEUTRAL — 4 days ago · A drone strike on a crowded market in southern Sudan killed 28 people and injured 23 more on Tuesday, a medical source and witnesses told ...
https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10741857
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web search NEUTRAL — 5 days ago · A drone attack killed 28 people and injured 23 more at a market in the paramilitary-controlled Sudanese town of Ghubaysh in West Kordofan on ...
https://www.facebook.com/WitnessKZN/posts/a-drone-attack-kil…
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Claim 10: “One of the most recent attacks in Sudan occurred on Tuesday when a drone struck a busy market, killing 28 people.”
CORROBORATED
Three independent news sources (AFP, AP, and others) confirm a drone strike on a market in Sudan on a Tuesday that killed 28 people.
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web search NEUTRAL — Khartoum (AFP) – A drone strike on a crowded market in southern Sudan killed 28 people and injured 23 more on Tuesday, a medical source and witnesses told AFP, in one of the deadliest recent attacks o…
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20260519-drone-attack-…
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web search NEUTRAL — CAIRO (AP) — A drone strike on a bustling market in central Sudan on Tuesday killed 28 people and wounded dozens more, a local rights group said, part of the war that has devastated the country since …
https://wtop.com/world/2026/05/28-killed-in-a-drone-strike-o…
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web search NEUTRAL — A drone attack on Tuesday killed 28 people and injured 23 others when it struck a Sudanese market in the paramilitary-controlled town of Ghubaysh in West.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2026/05/19/dr…
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Claim 11: “more than 20,000 documented incidents of “food-related violence” in the past eight years”
CORROBORATED
The claim is directly supported by the web search result titled 'Hunger increasingly used as weapon of war as ‘food-related violence...', which explicitly mentions the data compiled by Insecurity Insight regarding 21,403 incidents since 2018 (approximately 6-8 years).
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web search NEUTRAL — The incidence of violence can lead to adverse health effects. Mental health issues include depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, and suicide. Physical health issues include cardiovascula…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violence
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web search NEUTRAL — 20% of deaths in the U.S. are attributable to dietary risks.
https://www.thelancet.com/article/S0140-6736(19)30041-8/full…
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web search NEUTRAL — Overview of Leafy Greens - Related Food Safety Incidents with a California...
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of-food-protec…
help
Claim 12: “Mali, where 1,415 attacks were recorded”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided or found in the search results to verify the number of attacks recorded in Mali.
schedule
Claim 13: “two-thirds of people facing acute food insecurity concentrated in just 10 nations.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.