Drone strike destroys U.N. food aid trucks in Sudan’s North Darfur

August 20, 2025 (MELLIT) – A drone strike destroyed three trucks in a World Food Programme (WFP) aid convoy in the town of Mellit in Sudan’s North Darfur region on Tuesday, a local official and witnesses said.

The convoy had arrived from the Tina border crossing and was parked at a customs facility in Mellit, north of the regional capital El Fasher, when it was hit, according to Al-Ajab Rakza, the head of Mellit’s civil administration.

“A drone belonging to the Sudanese army attacked the city again and burned three trucks belonging to the World Food Programme,” Rakza told Sudan Tribune. He said the attack caused panic among civilians and forced the local market to close.

A spokesperson for the army declined to comment. The WFP did not immediately issue a comment.

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which controls Mellit, blamed the army for the strike. In a statement, the RSF accused the army of being “the biggest obstacle to the arrival of humanitarian aid to millions in need.”

Eyewitnesses said the Sudanese army has recently conducted several drone strikes in the area targeting RSF positions, destroying combat vehicles and fuel trucks.

Al-Tahir Hajer, a political leader allied with the RSF, condemned the attack as a “flagrant violation of international humanitarian law” and a “crime against humanity.”

The incident follows a similar attack in May, when a WFP convoy was struck near the town of Al-Kuma, also in North Darfur. At least five aid workers were killed in that attack. The army and the RSF exchanged blame for the May bombing, which the WFP condemned while calling for an investigation.