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The Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Mrs. Khardiata Lo NDIAYE, condemns the looting of food supplies from a World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse in El Fasher, North Darfur.
On the evening of 28 December, the premises came under attack from unknown armed groups. This incident follows the looting and reported violence around the former UNAMID base in El Fasher last week.
“The United Nations and humanitarian partners are extremely concerned about the reports from North Darfur that humanitarian assets came under attack. This was food assistance meant for Sudan’s most vulnerable people. Humanitarian assistance should never be a target,” said Khardiata Lo N’diaye, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan. “One in three people in Sudan needs of humanitarian assistance. Such an attack severely impedes our ability to deliver to the people who need it the most. We urgently ask all parties to adhere to humanitarian principles and allow the safe delivery of life-saving assistance,” she stated.
According to initial reports, the WFP warehouse located in the Borsa area of El Fasher town, the capital of North Darfur State, contained up to 1,900 metric tonnes of food, meant for hundreds of thousands of food-insecure people in that area. This comes amid unprecedented funding shortfalls for WFP, estimated at US$358 million. As of 29 December, the security situation had been restored, according to state authorities.
“We are grateful to the local authorities for intervening and preventing the situation from worsening. However, we call upon the Government of Sudan to step up efforts to protect and safeguard humanitarian premises and assets throughout Sudan” she concluded.
An estimated 14.3 million people in Sudan are need humanitarian assistance according to the 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan, of which 25 per cent require food security and livelihoods support.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
