A ruinous war raging for about a year between rival generals in Sudan risks creating the world's largest hunger crisis, the top UN food official warned Wednesday, as the global attention has been focused on the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Cindy McCain, head of the World Food Programme, said Sudan's war, which pits the country's military against a violent paramilitary group, has shattered the lives of millions across the northeastern African nation. "The war in Sudan risks triggering the world's largest hunger crisis," McCain said as she wrapped a trip to neighbouring South Sudan, where hundreds of thousands had fled the fighting in their home country.