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Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Five killed and several injured after attack on UN aid convoy in Sudan
Five people have been killed and several more injured after an attack on an aid convoy in the Sudanese region of North Darfur. The number of dead was revealed in a statement from the World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF on Tuesday. Earlier, it was reported that a UN convoy delivering food to El Fasher, North Darfur came under attack overnight, with initial reports indicating there had been "multiple casualties". According to the joint statement, the convoy of 15 trucks had travelled 1,120 miles from Port Sudan - and was trying to negotiate access to El Fasher when it was targeted on Monday night. "Multiple trucks were burned and critical humanitarian supplies were damaged," in addition to the deaths and injuries, the statement said. Aid deliveries have regularly been caught in the crossfire of the two-year war between the Sudanese Army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, leaving more than half the Sudanese population facing acute levels of hunger. Last week, WFP premises in El Fasher were targeted, damaging a workshop, office building, and clinic. Several medics were killed in a separate attack on El Obeid hospital in North Kordogan last month. Read more The joint WFP-UNICEF statement reads: "The WFP and UNICEF condemn an attack on a joint humanitarian convoy near Al Koma, North Darfur, last night. "Following months of escalating violence, hundreds of thousands of people in El Fasher - many of them children - are at high risk of malnutrition and starvation if supplies do not urgently reach them. "As is standard with our humanitarian convoys, the route was shared in advance, and parties on the ground were notified and aware of the location of the trucks. "Under international humanitarian law, aid convoys must be protected, and parties have the obligation to allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need. "Both agencies demand an immediate end to attacks on humanitarian personnel, their facilities and vehicles - a violation under international humanitarian law." Humanitarian attacks continuing 'with impunity' The two agencies called for an "urgent investigation" into the incident and for the "perpetrators to be held to account". They offered their condolences to the families of those killed and their "heartfelt sympathy and support to all those injured". "It is devastating that the supplies have not reached the vulnerable children and families they were intended to," the joint statement concluded. "Attacks on humanitarian staff, aid, operations, as well as civilians and civilian infrastructure in Sudan have continued for far too long with impunity. "WFP and UNICEF colleagues remain on the ground despite the insecurity, but call for safe, secure operating conditions and for international humanitarian law to be respected by all parties. The lives of millions in Sudan, including in locations like El Fasher in Darfur, depend on it." This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the latest version. You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
Straits Times
08-05-2025
- Health
- Straits Times
South Sudan clashes block aid to 60,000 malnourished children
FILE PHOTO: A 25-year-old mother holds her severely malnourished child at the paediatric ward of the Mother of Mercy Hospital in Gidel, South Kordofan, Sudan, June 25, 2024. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya/File Photo NAIROBI - Fighting along the Nile River in South Sudan has prevented humanitarian aid from reaching more than 60,000 malnourished children in the northeast of the country for almost a month, two United Nations agencies said on Thursday. The U.N.'s World Food Programme (WFP) and agency for children (UNICEF) said they expect nutrition supplies for Upper Nile State, which has some of the highest rates of malnutrition in the country, to run out by the end of May. "Children are already the first to suffer during emergencies. If we can't get nutrition supplies through, we are likely to see escalating malnutrition in areas already at breaking point," Mary-Ellen McGroarty, WFP's representative in South Sudan, said in a joint WFP-UNICEF statement. The Nile is a crucial transport artery in South Sudan because the impoverished country has few paved roads and a lot of challenging terrain, particularly during the rainy season when many roads become impassable. The agencies did not say which fighting had disrupted the route of their aid barges, but government forces have been fighting an ethnic Nuer militia known as the White Army in areas near the Nile since March. The battles led to the arrest of First Vice President Riek Machar and a spiralling political crisis, which the United Nations has warned could reignite the brutal civil war that ended in 2018. In mid-April, barges carrying 1,000 metric tonnes of food and nutrition supplies bound for Upper Nile State were forced to return due to insecurity, WFP and UNICEF said. The agencies decided against pre-positioning supplies in health centres and warehouses in insecure areas because they could have become targets for looting, they said. "We have reluctantly taken the unprecedented step of holding back supplies for fear that they will not reach the children that so desperately need them, due to the ongoing fighting, looting and disruption of the river route," said Obia Achieng, UNICEF's representative. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
South Sudan clashes block aid to 60,000 malnourished children
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Fighting along the Nile River in South Sudan has prevented humanitarian aid from reaching more than 60,000 malnourished children in the northeast of the country for almost a month, two United Nations agencies said on Thursday. The U.N.'s World Food Programme (WFP) and agency for children (UNICEF) said they expect nutrition supplies for Upper Nile State, which has some of the highest rates of malnutrition in the country, to run out by the end of May. "Children are already the first to suffer during emergencies. If we can't get nutrition supplies through, we are likely to see escalating malnutrition in areas already at breaking point," Mary-Ellen McGroarty, WFP's representative in South Sudan, said in a joint WFP-UNICEF statement. The Nile is a crucial transport artery in South Sudan because the impoverished country has few paved roads and a lot of challenging terrain, particularly during the rainy season when many roads become impassable. The agencies did not say which fighting had disrupted the route of their aid barges, but government forces have been fighting an ethnic Nuer militia known as the White Army in areas near the Nile since March. The battles led to the arrest of First Vice President Riek Machar and a spiralling political crisis, which the United Nations has warned could reignite the brutal civil war that ended in 2018. In mid-April, barges carrying 1,000 metric tonnes of food and nutrition supplies bound for Upper Nile State were forced to return due to insecurity, WFP and UNICEF said. The agencies decided against pre-positioning supplies in health centres and warehouses in insecure areas because they could have become targets for looting, they said. "We have reluctantly taken the unprecedented step of holding back supplies for fear that they will not reach the children that so desperately need them, due to the ongoing fighting, looting and disruption of the river route," said Obia Achieng, UNICEF's representative.
