Five killed in attack on UN food convoy heading to Sudan hunger hotspot, UN says
Aid has frequently come under crossfire in the two-year-old war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has left more than half the population facing crisis levels of hunger and driven millions from their homes.
In statements, the RSF and the army blamed each other for the latest attack. The RSF said the army had attacked in an air strike, while the army said the RSF had torched the truck.
Reuters could not independently verify the contradictory accounts.
The UN joint statement said the route of the 15-truck convoy, which travelled more than 1,800km from Port Sudan, had been shared with the parties in advance. It was negotiating access to complete the journey when it was attacked, it said.
Al Koma is controlled by the RSF, and earlier this week saw a drone strike that claimed several civilian lives, according to local activists.
Famine conditions have previously been reported in al-Fashir, the capital of North Darfur. The fighting and barriers to the delivery of aid put in place by the two sides have cut off supplies.
The attack is the latest of several assaults on aid in recent days. It comes after the repeated shelling of UN World Food Programme premises in al-Fashir by the RSF and an attack on El Obeid hospital in North Kordofan that killed several medics late last month.
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