World Food Programme halts operations in Sudan after 3 employees killed

Smoke rises in Omdurman, near Halfaya Bridge, during clashes between the Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army as seen from Khartoum North, Sudan April 15, 2023. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah

The United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) said on Sunday it had temporarily halted all operations in Sudan after three of its employees were killed in clashes between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) a day earlier.

"While we review the evolving security situation, we are forced to temporarily halt all operations in Sudan," WFP executive director Cindy McCain said in a statement.

"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."

FILE PHOTO: Smoke rises over the city as army and paramilitaries clash in power struggle, in Khartoum, Sudan, April 15, 2023 in this picture obtained from social media. Instagram @lostshmi/via REUTERS

Three WFP employees were killed and two injured in clashes in Kabkabiya in North Darfur. The WFP did not specify their nationalities.

McCain also said it was difficult for WFP's staff to operate after a U.N. Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) aircraft was "significantly damaged" at Sudan's Khartoum airport during an exchange of fire on Saturday.

The incident has seriously impacted the organisation's ability to move humanitarian workers and aid in Sudan, she said.

Earlier on Sunday, the United Nations condemned the killing of the WFP employees, saying they died while carrying out their duties.

Volker Perthes, the head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission (UNITAMS), which was established in 2020 to support Sudan's democratic transition, said in a statement he was also "appalled by reports of projectiles hitting UN and other humanitarian premises, as well as reports of looting of UN and other humanitarian premises in several locations in Darfur."

A power struggle between the Sudanese army and the RSF has so far killed 56 civilians and wounded 595 people, including combatants.

The fighting broke out on Saturday between army units loyal to General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti. It was the first such outbreak since both joined forces to oust president Omar Hassan al-Bashir in 2019.

(This story has been corrected to say she said, not he said, in paragraph 6)

(Reporting by Nafisa Eltahir, writing by Omar Abdelrazek and Hatem Maher; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Raissa Kasolowsky)