Region | Sudan
Attacks on food trucks will hit 3 million people in Darfur
The UN World Food Programme said on Thursday it will cut food rations by half for up to 3 million people in Darfur starting next month because attacks on its trucks have reduced stocks.
- Agencies
- Published: 16:50 April 17, 2008
Khartoum: The UN World Food Programme said on Thursday it will cut food rations by half for up to 3 million people in Darfur starting next month because attacks on its trucks have reduced stocks.
The agency said 60 World Food Programme (WFP)-contracted trucks have been hijacked in the western Sudanese province since the start of the year, with 39 still missing and 26 drivers unaccounted for. One driver was killed in Darfur last month, it added.
“Attacks on the WFP food pipeline are an attack on the most vulnerable people in Darfur,'' WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran said in a statement. “With up to three million people depending on us for their survival in the upcoming rainy season, keeping WFP's supply line open is a matter of life and death,'' she added.
“We call on all parties to protect the access to food.''
More than 200,000 people have been killed in the Darfur conflict and more than 2 million are displaced from their homes, according to UN figures.
Fighting has raged since 2003 when ethnic African tribesman took up arms, complaining of decades of neglect and discrimination by the Arab-dominated Sudanese government in Khartoum.
WFP said trucks should be delivering 1,800 metric tons of food daily to Darfur this time of year to supply warehouses ahead of the rainy season which begins next month.
But deliveries have dropped to less than 900 tons per day.
“The government of Sudan provides police escorts for convoys on the main routes, but unfortunately the frequency is not enough to maintain the food pipeline,'' said Kenro Oshidari, the WFP representative in Sudan.
He appealed to rebel factions in Darfur to ensure security on the roads and respect the neutrality of people involved in the humanitarian effort.
“If the security situation on the roads improves, we will be able to restore the ration levels.''
A joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping force was launched in January to try to stem the violence in Darfur.
But the group only has about 9,000 troops and police on the ground out of a total of 26,000 that have been authorised.
Western officials have blamed the Sudanese government for delaying the rollout of the force, known as UNAMID, an accusation Khartoum denies.
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