Sudan Accuses RSF of Looting WFP Aid Convoy

RSF fighters file photo

November 26, 2024 (PORT SUDAN) – Sudan on Tuesday accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of looting a World Food Programme (WFP) aid convoy carrying food for thousands of people in North Darfur state and diverting it to Nyala, a city controlled by the paramilitary group.

The convoy, carrying aid for 27,400 people, left Port Sudan on November 14 for the Zamzam camp for displaced people, the WFP said at the time.

The Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) said the paramilitary group looted around 7,000 metric tons of food from the convoy at Armel, on the border between West and North Kordofan states.  It did not, however, mention when the alleged looting took place.

“This act is intended to starve civilians, impoverish them and leave them vulnerable to hunger, malnutrition and terror,” the HAC said in a statement.

The HAC called on the RSF to respect international humanitarian law and the terms of a May ceasefire agreement signed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The RSF did not respond to a request for a comment.

Zamzam, one of the largest camps in North Darfur, is facing a humanitarian crisis and food shortages due to an RSF siege on El Fasher that began in April.

In early August, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), which includes United Nations agencies among its partners, reported famine in the camp, which houses nearly half a million displaced people.

(ST)