Intensifying Combat in Sudan Blocks Humanitarian Aid Delivery: WFP
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Khartoum, Dec 18 (NationPress) The World Food Programme (WFP) has indicated that the intensifying combat in Sudan is obstructing humanitarian aid from reaching areas threatened by famine.
Fighting in Um Rawwaba, North Kordofan, has hindered a convoy from accessing famine-risk zones in both North and South Kordofan, including Kadugli and Dilling, as reported by the Xinhua news agency citing a WFP statement.
The trucks had to retreat to a safer area and are currently awaiting a chance to be redirected to other reachable locations in South Kordofan and Blue Nile state as conditions allow, the report added.
The WFP emphasized that even the available routes have turned increasingly perilous in recent weeks due to heightened combat and intense shelling.
The United Nations organization pointed out that in October, it offered food, cash, and nutritional assistance to 2.8 million individuals across the nation. It is now striving to deliver critical food and nutrition support to 14 hunger hotspots, many of which are situated in conflict-ridden areas throughout Darfur, Kordofan, Khartoum, and Gezira, where conflict continues to worsen.
The WFP is aiding community kitchens in regions of Khartoum via local partners, aiming to distribute up to 100,000 hot meals each month. Additionally, WFP is broadening its cash-based assistance, which includes launching a self-registration pilot for cash-based aid for residents of Khartoum.
The Sudanese government recently declared that 28.9 million individuals in the country require humanitarian assistance due to the ongoing conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which began in mid-April 2023.
