First U.N. aid reaches central Khartoum since Sudan war began, U.N. says
April 30, 2025 (NEW YORK) – The first U.N. food aid since Sudan’s conflict began two years ago has reached the centre of the capital Khartoum, the United Nations said on Wednesday. Relief efforts are also scaling up in the western Darfur region amid large-scale displacement.
Distributions of 70 metric tonnes of World Food Programme (WFP) supplies for nearly 8,000 people in Khartoum’s Burri neighbourhood are set to begin on Thursday, U.N. deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters. These mark the first distributions in the downtown area since the conflict erupted.
Aid distributions have also started in the Alazhari neighbourhood in south Khartoum, targeting 20,000 people in an area the U.N. considers at high risk of famine, Haq said.
Separately, the U.N. is dispatching more humanitarian supplies to Tawila in North Darfur state, where Haq said more than 300,000 people have sought safety after fleeing recent attacks in the Zamzam displacement camp.
Haq stated that an inter-agency aid convoy crossed into Darfur from neighbouring Chad on Tuesday and was en route to Tawila carrying items including dignity kits, nutrition and medical supplies. Another 19-truck convoy with nutrition supplies was expected to depart Chad for Tawila on Wednesday.
This follows the dispatch last week of health, nutrition, and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) supplies for over 340,000 people from Chad to Tawila and some localities in Central Darfur state.
The U.N. food agency reported via Haq that WFP food aid for some 220,000 people has already arrived in Tawila. Distributions started Wednesday and have already been 20% completed. WFP is mobilizing more aid as displacement figures rise.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) manages the Sudan Humanitarian Fund, which has disbursed over $14 million this year for aid partners in North Darfur, Haq said. This includes a $2.5 million emergency allocation released last week for health, nutrition, and WASH assistance for the displaced.