The World Food Programme (WFP) of the United Nations said on Sunday that it had temporarily ceased its operations in Sudan following the deaths of three of its employees in hostilities between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) the previous day.
“While we review the evolving security situation, we are forced to temporarily halt all operations in Sudan,” WFP executive director Cindy McCain said in a statement.
“WFP is committed to assisting the Sudanese people facing dire food insecurity, but we cannot do our lifesaving work if the safety and security of our teams and partners is not guaranteed.”
Conflicts in Kabkabiya, North Darfur, resulted in three WFP staff being killed and two others being hurt. Their nationalities were not identified by the WFP.
McCain also said it was difficult for WFP’s staff to operate after a U.N. Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) aircraft was “significantly damaged” at Sudan’s Khartoum airport during an exchange of fire on Saturday.
The event has had a significant impact on the organisation’s capacity to transport assistance workers and supplies to Sudan, she said.
The WFP staffers were killed earlier on Sunday, and the United Nations denounced the crime, claiming that they perished while performing their jobs.
Volker Perthes, the commander of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission (UNITAMS), said in a statement that he was “appalled by reports of projectiles hitting UN and other humanitarian premises, as well as reports of looting of UN and other humanitarian premises in several locations in Darfur.” UNITAMS was established in 2020 to support the transition to democracy in Sudan.
56 civilians have already died and 595 individuals, including fighters, have been injured as a result of a power struggle between the Sudanese army and the RSF.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, and army units loyal to General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan engaged in combat on Saturday. The outbreak was the first of its kind since both parties banded together to overthrow President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in 2019.