For the first time since Sudan’s civil war broke out in April 2023, a food aid convoy has successfully reached the capital, Khartoum, offering a glimmer of hope amid what the United Nations calls the “world’s worst hunger crisis.”
The conflict, driven by fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has devastated food supplies and left nearly half the population—24.6 million people—in urgent need of aid, according to the Integrated Food Phase Classification (IPC).
On Thursday, a convoy of 28 aid trucks rolled into southern Khartoum, marking a rare breakthrough after months of negotiations between UN agencies, Sudanese community groups, the army, and the RSF.
Humanitarian worker Duaa Tariq, from the Sudanese group Emergency Response Rooms, described the scene as deeply emotional. “There were tears of laughter and joy and tears of exhaustion from all the effort put into making this happen. It was quite a moment,” she told reporters.
The convoy included five trucks from UNICEF, which delivered life-saving food and medical supplies to Al Bashayer Hospital and other healthcare facilities.
“We’ve been desperately waiting for this aid. Despite numerous efforts to navigate the challenges, this delivery is crucial in reducing the catastrophic impact of famine in Khartoum,” Tariq added.
The war, triggered by a power struggle between army and RSF commanders, has killed an estimated 150,000 people and displaced over 11 million, according to US special envoy Tom Perriello. Mediation efforts to end the conflict have so far yielded little success, leaving millions on the brink of starvation and reliant on rare humanitarian breakthroughs like this convoy.
