A drone attack struck an aid truck in Sudan's North Darfur state, destroying all supplies on board, the UN refugee agency reported on Sunday. The attack, which occurred on Friday, targeted a vehicle operated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) that was transporting emergency shelter kits to Tawila, a town hosting over 700,000 displaced people.
Details of the Attack
The UNHCR vehicle came under drone fire while en route to Tawila. The driver escaped unharmed, but all supplies were consumed in the resulting blaze. UNHCR condemned the attack, warning that it would leave 1,314 families in Tawila without shelter amid already overwhelming humanitarian needs.
The agency did not identify the perpetrator, but both the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been engaged in a brutal conflict since April 2023, with drone strikes escalating in recent months.
Humanitarian Crisis Worsens
According to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, 28.9 million people—approximately 62 percent of Sudan's population—face acute food insecurity. This includes 10.2 million people experiencing severe food insecurity, particularly in the Darfur region and South Kordofan state.
Famine was declared last year in El-Fasher and Kadugli, with 20 other areas at risk in Darfur and Kordofan. The conflict has killed tens of thousands, displaced over 11 million, and created the world's largest displacement and hunger crises.
Escalating Violence
More than 127,000 people fled El-Fasher, North Darfur's capital and the army's last stronghold, after it fell to paramilitary forces in October. Reports indicate mass killings, sexual violence, looting, and rape followed the takeover. Fighting has since spread to neighboring Kordofan and the southeastern Blue Nile state, raising fears of a prolonged and fragmented conflict.
Nearly 700 civilians have been killed in drone strikes by both sides since January alone, according to the UN. UNHCR voiced deep concern over the rising use of drones, calling repeated attacks on humanitarian operations particularly abhorrent.
