In Sudan, gunmen have looted a World Food Programme (WFP) storage facility containing at least 1,900 tonnes of food aid, according to the WFP.
According to a government official, authorities were “conducting an audit into what was stolen from the warehouse, which contains some 1,900 tonnes of food products.”
The looting comes in the wake of an increase in violence that began in October, triggered by land disputes, livestock issues, and water access issues. The fighting between herders and farmers in recent months has reportedly killed about 250 people.
There were heavy gunfights near a warehouse in al-Fashir, capital of the state of North Darfur on Tuesday. “We heard intense gunfire,” said one resident to AFP.
After ethnic minorities were pitted against the Arab-dominated government they complained of discrimination, Darfur was ravaged by conflict during a civil war that began in 2003. Nearly 300,000 people have been killed and 3.5 million people have been displaced. Violence often flares up despite the conflict subsiding.
In a statement issued last week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned looting and violence near a former UN logistics base in al-Fashir, which was recently returned to the local authorities.
Over 14 million people, nearly one-third of Sudan’s entire population, will need humanitarian assistance in a decade, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
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