UN Food Aid Convoy In Sudan Attacked, 5 People Killed

PHOTO OF ILLUSTRATION/PB tactical Vehicle/DOK PHOTO VIA Instagram @unifil_official

JAKARTA - The attack on a convoy of UN food aids in Sudan killed five people. The incident is now hampering food delivery to children and families facing starvation in al-Fashir, North Darfur.

"Five members of the convoy were killed and several others injured. Several trucks were burned, and critical humanitarian supplies were damaged," the UN Children's Agency and the World Food Program said in a joint statement.

They did not say who was responsible and called for an immediate investigation into the so-called violation of international humanitarian law.

Without fresh food supplies soon, hundreds of thousands of people in al-Fashir are at high risk of malnutrition and hunger.

Assistance was often targeted in a two-year war between Sudanese soldiers and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces that left more than half of the population facing severe hunger rates and left millions of people from their homes.

In a statement, RSF and soldiers blamed each other for the latest attack.

RSF said soldiers had attacked by air, while soldiers said RSF burned the truck.

A joint UN statement said the 15-truck convoy route, which covers a distance of more than 1,800 kilometers from Port Sudan, had been distributed to both sides previously.

They are negotiating access to complete the trip when attacked.

Al Koma is controlled by RSF. Earlier this week there was a drone strike that killed several civilians, according to local activists.

Hunger conditions have previously been reported in al-Fashir, the capital of North Darfur. Fighting and relief barriers imposed by both sides have cut off supplies.

The attack is the latest in several attacks on aid in recent days.

The attack follows repeated shootings of the UN World Food Program in al-Fashir by RSF and attacks on El Obaid hospital in North Kordofan that killed several medics late last month.