Khartoum: A deadly assault on a United Nations food convoy in Sudan has left five people dead and halted crucial aid deliveries to thousands facing starvation in the besieged North Darfur city of al-Fashir, UN agencies reported on Tuesday.
In a joint statement, UNICEF and the World Food Programme (WFP) confirmed that the convoy was ambushed overnight, resulting in multiple casualties, injuries, and the destruction of several trucks. Critical humanitarian supplies were also damaged in the incident.
“This attack is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law,” the agencies said, urging an immediate investigation. They refrained from attributing blame, as both the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) accused each other of orchestrating the strike.
According to the UN, the 15-truck convoy had traveled over 1,800 kilometers from Port Sudan with prior notice given to all conflicting parties. It was in the final stages of negotiating safe access to complete its journey when it came under attack near Al Koma, an area under RSF control. Local sources report a recent drone strike in the same region that killed several civilians.
The conflict, now in its second year, has brought humanitarian operations to a near standstill, with aid workers frequently targeted. Over half of Sudan’s population now faces acute hunger, and millions have been displaced by the fighting.
The WFP warned that without new supplies, hundreds of thousands in al-Fashir are at imminent risk of malnutrition and death from starvation. The city, already suffering from near-famine conditions, remains largely cut off due to ongoing hostilities and blockades imposed by both sides.
This latest assault adds to a growing list of attacks on humanitarian operations in recent weeks, including RSF shelling of WFP facilities in al-Fashir and a strike on a hospital in El Obeid that killed several healthcare workers.
UN agencies have reiterated their call for safe, unimpeded humanitarian access and an end to the targeting of civilians and aid convoys in the escalating conflict.
