Sudanese army denies targeting WFP relief convoy
Port Sudan, Sudan (PANA) - The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) on Thursday denied bombing a World Food Programme (WFP) relief convoy heading for north Darfur, saying the accusation of the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) was only aimed to eclipse their obstruction of humanitarian assistance to the besieged people in Al Fashir.
A press release published by the Sudanese army on its official Facebook page said the RSF issued a “fabricated” statement in an attempt to “cover up its own crime of targeting that same convoy in the same area”.
WFP said the convoy taking aid to a famine-hit area in the Darfur region was targeted on Wednesday in the town of Mellit, which is under RSF control.
Media reports said the WFP did not give many details of the attack, but said three lorries in the 16-vehicle convoy were damaged and caught fire. All staff travelling in the convoy were safe.
Ajab Rakza, the head of Mellit’s civil administration, blamed the SAF for attack, which, he said, caused panic among civilians and forced the local market to close, the Sudan Tribune news outlet reported.
Al-Tahir Hajer, a political leader allied with the RSF, condemned the attack as a “flagrant violation of international humanitarian law” and a “crime against humanity”.
But SAF described the RSF's claims as “nothing but the usual lies”.
It listed the RSF's crimes as ranging from theft, looting, destruction, killing, and rape, to besieging and starving the residents of Al Fashir and other areas, and storming displaced persons camps in Darfur.
The SAF also said the most recent of these crimes was Zamzam Camp, which RSF turned into a training ground for minors with the help of Colombian mercenaries, as well as Abu Shouk Camp in North Darfur, from which they expelled displaced people.
“We will not be distracted by such fabrications. With unwavering resolve, we will continue to confront this militia and its mercenaries until our entire nation is free of their presence and their crimes,” the statement added.
The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan has said that both sides to the bloody war are responsible for "a widespread pattern of arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment of detainees".
It said they have used "rape and other forms of sexual violence, arbitrary arrest and detention, as well as torture and ill-treatment".
The fighting has sparked one of the world's worst humanitarian crises - 12 million people have been forced from their homes and famine has been declared in parts of the country. Thousands of people have been killed and infrastructure destroyed in the war between the former allies.
WFP says Sudan is “the world’s largest hunger crisis”. Famine has spread to additional areas and could spread even more in coming months, it has warned.
An international coalition that groups five governments, the United Nations and the African Union on Wednesday issued a joint statement urging the warring parties in the East African country to allow humanitarian aid passage and respect human rights.
The Aligned for Advancing Lifesaving and Peace (ALPS), which brings together the Governments of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the United States of America, and the AU and UN said it was "appalled by the continuous deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Sudan".
It referred particularly to the growing number of people in situations of severe malnutrition and famine, and by the wide range of access impediments that are delaying or blocking the response in key areas.
ALPS expressed regret that Sudanese civilians continued to pay the highest price for the war.
The coalition added in a joint statement published by the US Department of the State that with the situation in Sudan worsening and humanitarian needs reaching critical levels, urgent action is needed by the conflict parties to protect civilians and allow and facilitate humanitarian access to those in need.
This is in line with their obligations under international humanitarian law, and their commitments under the Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan, signed in May 2023.
In this regard, the ALPS coalition called on the warring parties to lift all bureaucratic impediments impinging on and preventing humanitarian activities and commit to maintain key supply routes open for humanitarian convoys and personnel, including through humanitarian pauses and other arrangements as needed.
It added that they should see to it that telecommunications access are restored in all areas and ensure the protection of critical civilian infrastructure, in particular energy, water and health infrastructure.
-0- PANA MO/MA 21Aug2025
