KHARTOUM: A drone strike on an aid convoy in Sudan’s North Kordofan state killed one person and wounded several others, the United Nations humanitarian agency said, as local civilian organisations accused paramilitary forces of carrying out the attack.
The convoy was travelling on Friday toward an area near El-Obeid, a strategic city under Sudanese army control but surrounded for more than a year by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The trucks were transporting humanitarian assistance to civilians affected by the prolonged conflict.
The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Denise Brown, said she witnessed the aftermath of the strike during a visit to El-Obeid, describing scenes of burning aid trucks and destroyed supplies. She said she was “deeply concerned” by the attack and stressed that humanitarian personnel, assets, and relief supplies must be protected under international law.
Emergency Lawyers, an independent group documenting war crimes in Sudan, said the convoy had been contracted by the World Food Programme (WFP) and accused the RSF of carrying out the drone strike.
Another local civilian organisation, the Sudan Doctors Network, also blamed the RSF, saying three people were injured in the attack. The group described the incident as a “flagrant violation of international humanitarian law” and a potential war crime.
Sudan has been gripped by a brutal conflict since April 2023, when fighting erupted between the Sudanese army and the RSF.
The war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced millions, and plunged the country into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with aid agencies repeatedly warning of worsening hunger and insecurity.
“It undermines humanitarian efforts to deliver life-saving aid to civilians affected by the war,” it added.
More than 21 million people – nearly half of Sudan’s population – face high levels of acute food insecurity, according to the United Nations.
