In brief
An attack on a UN aid convoy highlights the perilous situation in Sudan, hindering much-needed assistance to millions affected by ongoing conflict.
On June 4, 2025, it was reported that five United Nations personnel were killed during an attack on a humanitarian convoy in southwestern Sudan, as escalating violence complicates aid delivery in the turbulent region. The assault targeted a group of 15 trucks belonging to the UN’s World Food Program (WFP) and UNICEF, which had halted for the night in a market town of North Darfur after traversing a 1,100-mile route from Port Sudan.This convoy aimed to provide urgent supplies to El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State, marking the first delivery of its kind in over a year. The WFP disclosed that the trucks were loaded with roughly 1,100 tons of humanitarian aid for around 100,000 residents in dire need. Following two years of civil war, El Fasher remains the final major city in the Darfur region under Sudanese Army control, facing relentless assaults from the rebel group Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who dominate large swathes of western and southern Sudan.The UN statement conveyed disappointment, noting that they had pre-informed local military factions about the convoy's route and had sought diplomatic negotiation for safe access to El Fasher. “Many of our trucks were burned in the attack, and critical humanitarian supplies were damaged. It is devastating that the supplies have not reached the civilians in need,” the organization lamented.The attack starkly illuminates the hazards confronting aid agencies as they aim to escalate delivery efforts for civilians teetering on the edge of famine due to warfare, which, according to UN declarations, has displaced over 13 million individuals. Recent weeks have seen intensified aggression, including artillery shelling by RSF that struck a WFP warehouse in El Fasher and airstrikes from Sudanese forces near El Koma—an RSF stronghold—that resulted in numerous casualties.Meanwhile, UNICEF confirmed that two of its trucks in the convoy, which contained vital nutritional supplies for severely malnourished children alongside health kits and water treatment resources, remained intact. Spokeswoman Eva Hinds assured, “The plan is to move them elsewhere. This has just cemented our resolve to stay and deliver. We are not leaving.”
