100,000 starve while South Sudan buys weapons: UN expers

UN experts say in a new report that South Sudan's government is spending at least half its budget on security and weapons while 100,000 people are dying of starvation as a result of famine caused mainly by an upsurge in government military operations.

The experts monitoring UN sanctions against the world's newest nation said another 1 million people are near starvation and the number of people desperately needing food is expected to rise to 55 million people in the "lean season in July ... If nothing is done to curb the severity and breadth of the food crisis."

The panel of experts called on council members to impose an arms embargo on South Sudan in the report to the Security Council obtained today by The Associated Press.