Sudan government accuses paramilitary forces of blocking UNICEF aid trucks – Dainik Savera Times

Khartoum: Sudan’s Foreign Ministry alleges that paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) stopped several United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) trucks carrying humanitarian aid en route to El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state. The ministry claimed on Friday that the RSF stopped trucks that were sent to address the food and health crisis in the displacement camps, Xinhua news agency reported.

The RSF has also been accused of disrupting humanitarian convoys on the al-Dabbah-Melit-El Fasher route by deploying forces near the city of Melit to intercept and seize aid supplies. The development came after the Sudanese Foreign Ministry’s recent notification to the United Nations. Which confirmed the Government’s consent to the use of the Al-Tina crossing and the Port Sudan-Atbara-Melit-El Fasher route with Chad for aid transportation to the Darfur region.

The ministry also approved the use of El Fashar airports for aid delivery if land routes are compromised. The United Nations estimates that half of Sudan’s population, some 25 million people, are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection, with some 18 million at risk of food shortages. There has been an ongoing violent conflict between armed forces and the RSF in Sudan since 15 April 2023,

This resulted in the displacement of approximately 81 lakh persons, including 63 lakh internally. Last month’s situation report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, citing data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, indicated that about 13,900 people have lost their lives in the conflict.