An attack on an aid convoy in Sudan's Darfur region kills 5, UN says

CAIRO — An attack on an aid convoy in Sudan's Darfur region left five people dead and several wounded, the United Nations said Tuesday, and the warring parties in the northeast African nation traded blame for the attack.

The attack on the 15-truck convoy carrying desperately needed food and nutrition supplies came Monday night near the Rapid Support Forces-controlled town of Koma in North Darfur province. It was trying to reach besieged el-Fasher city, according to a joint statement from the World Food Program and UNICEF. Both agencies called for an investigation into the attack.

''This was the first U.N. humanitarian convoy that was going to make it to el-Fasher in over one year,'' U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York.

Sudan was plunged into a war more than two years ago, when tensions between Sudan's army and its rival paramilitary RSF exploded with street battles in the capital of Khartoum that quickly spread across the country.

Monday night's attack burned many trucks and damaged the aid they were carrying, the statement said. It didn't say who was responsible for the attack.

The WFP and UNICEF said they were negotiating to complete the trip to el-Fasher, which is besieged by RSF, after traveling more than 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) from the eastern city of Port Sudan on the Red Sea, which serves as an interim seat for the country's military-allied government.

''It is devastating that the supplies have not reached the vulnerable children and families they were intended to,'' the statement said.

The U.N.'s Dujarric said all those killed and injured were Sudanese contractors working for WFP and UNICEF.

''They were 80 kilometers from el-Fasher, after having traveled 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) for days in incredibly difficult terrain, incredibly dangerous terrain," he said. ''They were parked on the side of the road waiting for clearances and they were attacked.''

''It was an air attack, most likely drones. But we don't know who the perpetrators were,'' Dujarric said.

The RSF said in a statement the convoy was hit by a military aircraft in a ''preplanned attack.'' Footage shared by the RSF showed burned vehicles carrying what appeared to be flour bags.

The military-led government, however, rejected the accusation and said in a statement that aid trucks were ''treacherously attacked by assault drones operated by the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia.''

The Resistance Committees in el-Fasher tracked the fighting in and around the city and blamed the paramilitaries for the attack, saying the RSF statement aimed to ''mislead public opinion and evade accountability.''

The U.N. demanded a halt to attacks on humanitarian personnel, facilities and vehicles.

''These are violations under international humanitarian law, and we call for an urgent investigation and for the perpetrators to be brought to account,'' Dujarric said.

El-Fasher, more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) southwest of Khartoum, is one of the last strongholds of the Sudanese military in Darfur. The region has been under RSF siege since May 2024.

Monday's attack was the latest on aid operations in the past two years. Last week, WFP's premises in el-Fasher were bombed, damaging a workshop, office building and clinic, according to the statement.

The war has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis. It has driven about 13 million people from their homes, including over 4 million who crossed into neighboring countries. Parts of Sudan have been pushed into famine.

The fighting has been marked by atrocities including mass rape and ethnically motivated killings that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially in Darfur, according to the U.N. and international rights groups.

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Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer contributed to this report from the United Nations.