A United Nations humanitarian convoy en route to the besieged city of El-Fasher in Sudan’s North Darfur region came under deadly attack late Monday night, resulting in multiple casualties, according to the UN and Sudanese authorities.
The incident occurred in the town of El-Koma, amid intensifying fighting between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The Sudanese government claimed that guards, drivers, and civilians accompanying the UN trucks were killed, attributing the assault to the RSF.
However, the RSF issued a counterclaim, blaming the Sudanese army for the attack and alleging the use of drone strikes on the convoy. The United Nations has not assigned blame but confirmed that the convoy was struck as it prepared to depart for El-Fasher, a city on the brink of famine and still under government control.
“The convoy was awaiting clearance to move toward El-Fasher when it came under fire,” said Eujin Byun, spokesperson for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), in a press briefing Tuesday.
According to RSF spokesperson Basha Tabiq, four members of the UN convoy were killed and two others injured in the El-Koma attack. Local sources, including the El-Koma Emergency Room, a community-led first responder group, circulated a video online showing a burnt-out aid truck loaded with supplies. They blamed the strike on “Sudanese army drones.”
El-Koma is currently under RSF control and has repeatedly been caught in the crossfire of Sudan’s brutal civil war. On Sunday, the Sudanese army reportedly launched airstrikes on the town, killing or injuring at least 89 people, according to the same local group. These claims, which include an alleged bombing of a busy marketplace, have not yet been addressed by the Sudanese military.
The humanitarian convoy was destined for El-Fasher, the last major stronghold held by the Sudanese Armed Forces in North Darfur. The city has been under siege by RSF forces for over a year, with civilians trapped and humanitarian conditions deteriorating rapidly. Reports of famine-level food shortages and limited medical care have raised international alarm.
The attack underscores the growing risks faced by humanitarian agencies in Sudan, where aid operations have increasingly become targets in the conflict. The civil war, now entering its third year, erupted in 2023 following a power struggle between Sudan’s military leadership and the RSF. Initially allies in a coup that stalled Sudan’s democratic transition, the two factions turned on each other, plunging the nation into chaos.
According to the UN, over four million people have fled their homes, and millions more remain in dire need of assistance, making Sudan one of the world’s worst humanitarian emergencies.
As of Tuesday, the UN has called for immediate investigations and renewed its plea for safe and unhindered access to conflict-affected regions.
