The World Food Program (WFP) has strongly condemned the looting of one of its warehouses in Sudan. In a press release published Thursday, December 28, the UN humanitarian organization explains that its storage site at Wad Madani, 200 kilometers south of Khartoum, was attacked by the Rapid Support Forces, who are fighting the Sudanese national army. These paramilitaries took control of the city a few days ago and have since engaged in mass looting.
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“ This is intolerable and it must stop “, declared Michael Dunford, WFP’s East Africa director. Even if the organization suspended its operations because of the fighting – which oppose the Rapid Support Forces (FSR) of General Mohammed Hamdan Dogolo says “ Hemedti » to the regular army of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan -, the warehouse attacked stored crucial goods for the approximately 300,000 people who had fled Khartoum for Wad Madani (Central-East).
“ There were 2,500 tonnes of goods, enough to feed 1.5 million people for a monthindignant Leni Kinzli, WFP spokesperson for Sudan. Currently, around 300,000 displaced people are fleeing to the East. We have offices in Kassala and Gedaref and they assess the needs in more than 40 sites, schools, public buildings, where the displaced have sheltered. We also started distributing emergency aid. »
The WAP brings humanitarian aid by boat to Port Sudan, but also from Chad: now, 11 convoys have been able to cross this border to reach Darfur, in particular. But the organization must constantly remain on guard.
“ We must constantly adapt as the context evolves. For example, the conflict could extend to the White Nilecontinues the spokesperson. We have 4,000 tonnes of aid there which we are distributing as quickly as possible to avoid further looting. Various groups control different areas and the lines shift. Negotiations to get our convoys through are even harder: we have to be certain that the information is disseminated through the chain of command. This is the main challenge at the moment. »
Despite the precautions, the risk of looting remains very high: according to WFP, 40,000 tonnes of food have been stolen since the start of the conflict, worth $94 million.
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