WFP suspends food convoys to Sudan’s Darfur after rebels attack

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 28, 2004 (UN News Centre) — 28 December 2004 – About 260,000 people in Sudan’s strife-torn Darfur region will miss their food ration this month because the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) has been forced to suspend its relief convoys after rebels yesterday launched a large-scale attack on a nearby town and government forces retaliated.

This WFP convoy of 6X6 all-terrain trucks, funded by the USAID, was delayed in El-Fasher for several days because of fighting on the road out of town. (WFP).

The UN’s top envoy to Sudan also says he is alarmed by reports that Darfur rebels have recently stolen WFP trucks loaded with aid and may now be using some for military purposes.

WFP halted three convoys of 70 trucks carrying more than 1,300 million tons of food aid destined for the provincial capitals of North Darfur (El Fasher) and South Darfur (Nyala) after members of the rebel Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) launched a major attack yesterday on the market town of Ghubaysh in neighbouring West Kordofan.

The attack on Ghubaysh, which prompted retaliation from Sudanese government forces, follows a series of clashes within Darfur between Khartoum, allied militias and the rebel groups since they agreed to a ceasefire earlier this month.

WFP said the latest attack means the agency and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are effectively blocked from having overland access between central Sudan and Darfur. Road deliveries are crucial in the distribution of food aid to the region.

More than 1.85 million people have either been internally displaced or fled to Chad as refugees since rebels took up arms against the Government at the start of last year. Tens of thousands of villagers have been killed or died from starvation or disease.

In the past two weeks there have been reports that rebels have stolen 13 commercial all-terrain trucks that had been leased to WFP and were loaded with emergency food supplies. These thefts follow earlier reports of armed groups taking commercial and aid agency vehicles.

Jan Pronk, the Special Representative of Secretary-General Kofi Annan to Sudan, today called for the immediate return of the vehicles to WFP and NGOs. UN agencies said they were particularly concerned that rebels may use some trucks for military purposes.

“The problems of Darfur cannot be solved through military means,” Mr. Pronk said. “The parties to the conflict have to live up to their commitments, including their responsibility to ensure the safety and well-being of their own people and their unhindered access to humanitarian assistance.”