United Nations' food agency on Sunday said they are temporarily suspending its operations in Sudan following the death of three of its employees in the ongoing clash between Sudanese Army and paramilitary force RSF. The agency said two other employees also suffered injuries.
In a statement, the executive director of the programme Cindy McCain said, “Aid workers are neutral and should never be a target. Threats to our teams make it impossible to operate safely and effectively in the country and carry out WFP’s critical work.”
McCain said an aircraft managed by the agency at Khartoum International Airport got significantly damaged in gunfire exchange between the forces on Saturday. “We are forced to temporarily halt all operations in Sudan. WFP is committed to assisting the Sudanese people facing dire food insecurity, but we cannot do our lifesaving work if the safety and security of our teams and partners is not guaranteed,” she said in a statement.
According to reports, three staff of WFP got killed in the violence in Kabkabiya, North Darfur. At least 56 civilians got killed and several got injured in the clashes across Sudan. According to the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors, 595 were wounded in the clashes. On Saturday, clashes erupted between the army and paramilitary forces and several Embassies including that of India and the UK advised their citizens to stay indoors.