(MENAFN) Sudan’s military has denied responsibility for an airstrike on a World Food Programme (WFP) convoy delivering aid to a famine-stricken area in Darfur.

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attributed Wednesday’s attack in the RSF-controlled town of Mellit to the army.

Details from the WFP were limited, but it confirmed that three trucks in the 16-vehicle convoy were damaged and caught fire. All personnel traveling in the convoy remained unharmed.

Sudan has been engulfed in civil conflict since April 2023, following a fierce power struggle between the army and the RSF, creating one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises.
Although the RSF lacks an air force, both sides have made use of drones in the fighting.

The assault is the latest in a series of attacks on humanitarian operations in Sudan. "Humanitarian staff and assets must never be a target," the WFP stated, calling on all parties to respect international humanitarian law.

The organization added that it is "urgently gathering additional information" and "assessing the impact" of Wednesday’s strike.

The convoy had been traveling to a village near Mellit, described by the WFP as a "famine-affected area" located approximately 90 km (56 miles) northwest of el-Fasher. The city, the army’s final stronghold in Darfur, has been under siege by RSF forces for over a year.

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