Khartoum, Jan 7 (IANS): Humanitarian aid started distribution in the southern part of the Sudanese capital Khartoum, aiming to support over 80,000 war-affected people who have been grappling with dire humanitarian conditions amid the current civil war, a local volunteer group said.

"Eight centres have been set up to distribute aid to thousands of residents in Al-Azhari, Al-Ingaz, Ed Hussein, and Mayo neighbourhoods, south of Khartoum," Mohamed Kandasha, spokesperson for the South Khartoum Emergency Room, told Xinhua.

"This is the first time such aid has been distributed since the war broke out" in April 2023, Kandasha said, noting the aid distribution would last for three days, Xinhua news agency reported.

For the first time since the conflict erupted, the World Food Program has managed to deliver a convoy of 28 trucks carrying food aid, including five trucks containing vital medicines, to the southern Khartoum area, the UN agency has said.

The South Khartoum Emergency Room has made significant efforts to facilitate the arrival of humanitarian aid trucks to the area.

"Following close coordination with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), international organisations and United Nations agencies, we managed to deliver humanitarian aid in late December," Kandasha said.

According to official statistics, 28.9 million people in the country need humanitarian assistance due to an ongoing conflict between the SAF and the RSF since mid-April 2023.

The deadly conflict has claimed around 30,000 lives and displaced over 14 million people, either inside or outside Sudan, according to estimates by international organisations.