Sudan’s army has denied responsibility for an air strike on a World Food Programme (WFP) convoy delivering aid to famine-hit communities in Darfur.
The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which controls the town of Mellit where the incident occurred on Wednesday, accused the army of carrying out the attack. The WFP confirmed that three trucks in the 16-vehicle convoy were damaged and set ablaze, but reported that all staff members were safe.
While the RSF lacks an air force, both sides in Sudan’s civil war have deployed drones in the conflict.
“This is the latest in a series of assaults on humanitarian operations in Sudan,” the WFP said in a statement, stressing that “humanitarian staff and assets must never be a target” and urging both parties to uphold international humanitarian law. The agency added that it was urgently gathering more information and assessing the impact of the attack.
The convoy was en route to a village near Mellit, about 90km (56 miles) northwest of el-Fasher, the army’s last stronghold in Darfur. The city has been under siege by the RSF for over a year and remains a focal point in the escalating battle for control of the region.
Both the army and RSF have previously been accused of weaponizing hunger by looting food supplies and obstructing aid deliveries. In June, five aid workers were killed in a similar attack in el-Fasher.
Since fighting broke out in April 2023 between Sudan’s army and the RSF, tens of thousands of people have been killed, 12 million displaced within the country, and more than 4.5 million—mostly women and children—forced to flee into neighboring states.
