Aid convoy attacked in Sudan
Sudan, Omdurman, Khartoum State, 27 May 2023 In the photo: food distributions started in Khartoum State, in Omdurman following successful access negotiations. This first distribution will support around 10,000 people. WFP is ramping up assistance in the war-torn capital to support half a million people, if security and access allows.
On the 20th of August an aid convoy operated by the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) was attacked outside the famine-hit Sudanese town of Mellit in North Darfur, reports The New Arab via AFP.
Three out of a convoy of 16 trucks – which were delivering food to the famine struck communities in Alsayah village – were damaged and caught fire, said the WFP’s Gift Watanasathorn. Fortunately, they reassuringly added that all members of the convoy were “safe and accounted for.”
Watanasathorn continued: “Humanitarian staff and assets should never be a target” pleading for military groups involved to “respect international humanitarian law.”
The war began to emerge as a power struggle between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary group Rapid Supply Forces (RSF) escalated into a civil war.
Both sides have been accused of using starvation as a weapon of war and obstructing or stealing humanitarian aid. The war, now in its third year, has brought over a million people in Northern Darfur alone to the brink of starvation.
The attack has raised more concerns for the safety of humanitarian aid workers in the region. Luca Renda – the OHCA coordinator in Sudan – has said “Since war broke out in Sudan in 2023 more than 120 humanitarian personnel have been killed – nearly all of them Sudanese”
Key diplomatic players surrounding the Sudanese crisis – including the United States, Saudi Arabia, neighbouring Egypt, the African Union and the United Nations – have said in a joint statement released yesterday that they were “appalled by the continuous deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Sudan,” evident in the spread of famine and malnutrition throughout the region.
Controversially, the United Arab Emirates, who have been accused of funding and sending Colombian mercenaries to the RSF, co-signed the statement.
The statement was released on the 20th of August – the same day reports of a secret meeting in Geneva with the US and the head of the RSF emerged. Many hope this meeting may bring an end to the brutal war ravaging Sudan.
The New Arab via AFP, Maghrabi.org
Want to chase the pulse of North Africa?
Subscribe to receive our FREE weekly PDF magazine
