An aid convoy operated by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) came under attack on Wednesday near the famine-stricken town of Mellit in North Darfur, the agency confirmed, raising further alarm over the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Sudan.
Three of the 16 trucks in the convoy, which was transporting life-saving food supplies to vulnerable communities in Alsayah village, were damaged and caught fire. However, all convoy personnel were reported safe, said WFP spokesperson Gift Watanasathorn. “Humanitarian staff and assets must never be a target,” she stressed, urging Sudan’s warring sides to respect international humanitarian law.
The assault took place in territory controlled by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have been battling Sudan’s regular army since April 2023. Mellit has been under RSF control since April this year, while El-Fasher, the last major city held by the army in Darfur, has remained under siege for over a year.
The RSF accused the Sudanese army of carrying out an airstrike on the convoy, denouncing it as a “treacherous act of aggression.” The army did not immediately respond. Both sides have previously been accused of obstructing or looting humanitarian assistance and of using starvation as a weapon of war. In June, five aid workers were killed in a similar attack on a joint WFP-UNICEF convoy bound for El-Fasher.
The attack comes as international concern grows over Sudan’s worsening food crisis. The United States, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, the African Union, the United Nations, and the United Arab Emirates, which has faced accusations of backing the RSF, issued a joint statement on Wednesday calling for urgent humanitarian pauses in fighting to allow aid delivery.
The group said it was “appalled by the continuous deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Sudan,” citing widespread famine, malnutrition, and access restrictions.
The conflict, now in its third year, has plunged Sudan into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. The UN estimates that over a million people in North Darfur are on the brink of starvation, with famine already declared in several displacement camps around El-Fasher.
The war has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions, and devastated communities across the country, with aid agencies warning that without sustained access, the famine could spread further.
Written By Rodney Mbua
