Sudan UN Aid Convoy Heading for Darfur Attacked: Many Killed
Kanako Mita and Noriko Watanabe
Modern Tokyo Times
The Secretary-General António Guterres of the United Nations (UN) recently expressed his alarm at the growing menace of drone attacks against Port Sudan.
Accordingly, the latest United Nations (UN) aid convoy attack, while on its way to El Fasher (capital of North Darfur), will set off more alarm bells concerning this brutal war.
El-Fasher is a city threatened by famine. Similar to the drone attacks against Port Sudan, El-Fasher is besieged by the RSF (Rapid Support Forces).
The BBC reports, “El-Fasher is the last major location in North Darfur under army control. Civilians and military personnel there have been under attack by the RSF for over a year.”
UN News reports, “This would have been the first convoy to reach El Fasher in over a year. In April, the city and the nearby Zamzam displacement camp were attacked, displacing hundreds of thousands, many of whom had already been displaced.”
At least five people were killed when the UN aid convoy was attacked. This happened in an RSF stronghold in Al Koma.
The World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) condemned the attack.
A joint statement by the WFP and UNICEF said, “Aid convoys must be protected and parties have the obligation to allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need.”
The RSF and the Sudanese army both deny responsibility. However, the Sudanese army reportedly killed 89 people after a civilian market was hit by an airstrike.
The Guardian reports, “Al Koma was the location of another atrocity at the weekend, when an airstrike on a civilian market by the Sudanese army reportedly killed at least 89 people.”
Lee Jay Walker (Modern Tokyo Times analyst) says, “The United Nations (UN) singled out the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and various allies for committing horrendous crimes against non-Arabs in Darfur and South Kordofan. It is known that non-Arab Masalits were especially singled out in Darfur (other non-Arab groups targeted) – while in South Kordofan, the African Nuba are singled out.”
UN News reports, “Last week, the WFP premises in El Fasher were bombed and damaged and an international hospital in Al Obeid also experienced a deadly drone strike.”
Drone attacks and strikes against aid convoys highlight the dire situation in Sudan.
Many parts of Sudan are blighted by war and ethnic attacks.
Human Rights Watch says: “Rapid Support Forces fighters and allied militias have raped scores of women and girls, including in the context of sexual slavery, in Sudan’s South Kordofan state since September 2023.”
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