Khartoum, Dec 20 (IANS): The World Food Programme (WFP) on Friday announced that three of its staff members were killed in an aerial bombardment in Sudan, while the Sudanese government pledged to investigate the incident.
"The WFP is outraged by the killing of three of its staff members in an aerial bombardment in Sudan on Thursday, December 19, 2024," the UN agency said in a statement on social media platform X.
"A WFP office was hit during the attack. We are gathering more information and will provide update as we learn more," it added.
For its part, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry vowed to investigate the incident to determine who was responsible, Xinhua news agency reported.
"The United Nations Resident Humanitarian Coordinator's office in Sudan has reported that the WFP office in Yabus area in Blue Nile State ... was bombed last night, killing three of the office's staff members," the ministry said in a statement.
"The Government of Sudan renews its rejection and condemnation of any targeting of UN agencies and all humanitarian workers," it noted.
Sudan has been gripped by a devastating conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since mid-April 2023.
Earlier this week, the WFP had said that the escalating fighting in Sudan was preventing humanitarian aid from reaching famine-risk areas.
"Fighting in Um Rawwaba, North Kordofan, has prevented a convoy from reaching famine risk areas in North and South Kordofan, including Kadugli and Dilling," stated a WFP statement.
The trucks were forced to return to a safer location and are waiting to be rerouted to other accessible areas in South Kordofan and Blue Nile state as the situation permits, it added.
The WFP noted that even the available corridors have become more dangerous in recent weeks as fighting and intense shelling has escalated.
The UN organisation noted that in October, it provided food, cash, and nutritional assistance to 2.8 million people nationwide. It is now working to deliver essential food and nutrition support to 14 hunger hotspots, many of which are located in conflict-affected areas across Darfur, Kordofan, Khartoum, and Gezira, where the conflict continues to escalate.
WFP is supporting community kitchens in areas of Khartoum through local partners, with a goal of distributing up to 100,000 hot meals every month. WFP is also expanding its cash-based assistance, including the roll-out of a self-registration pilot for cash-based assistance for residents of Khartoum.
The Sudanese government recently announced that 28.9 million people in the country require humanitarian assistance due to the ongoing conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which erupted in mid-April 2023.