The Sudanese Alliance for Rights unequivocally denounces the deliberate and unlawful drone strike carried out by the Sudanese military on a World Food Programme (WFP) convoy in the city of Al-Kuma, North Darfur, on the night of 2 June 2025. The attack killed six humanitarian drivers, wounded several others, completely destroyed four trucks, and severely damaged the remaining vehicles. These trucks were transporting life-saving food and nutrition supplies to El Fasher, a city under siege and facing worsening famine conditions. This is not only a gross violation of international humanitarian law—it is a war crime and a direct assault on the fundamental right to life for millions of Sudanese people.
This atrocity occurs amid one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world today. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that more than 25 million people in Sudan—over half of the population—currently require humanitarian assistance. According to the World Food Programme (WFP), at least 638,000 people are facing catastrophic levels of hunger, classified as IPC Phase 5. The WFP also confirmed that famine conditions have already emerged in five locations, including displacement camps in North Darfur, where access to aid has been deliberately blocked.
Since the conflict erupted in April 2023, more than 13 million people have been displaced within Sudan, and a further 4 million have fled across international borders. These figures, reported by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), underscore Sudan’s position as the world’s largest internal displacement crisis.
Children have been disproportionately affected by this war. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 15.6 million children in Sudan are in urgent need of life-saving support. Of these, 5 million have been displaced, and over 17 million are now out of school. A recent analysis released by Save the Children and other humanitarian partners estimates that more than 522,000 children under the age of five may have died since the conflict began, due to hunger, disease, and the collapse of basic health services. The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that more than 80 percent of health facilities in conflict-affected regions are non-functional, while outbreaks of cholera, dengue, and malaria continue to spread unchecked.
The attack on the WFP convoy further undermines already fragile humanitarian efforts and deepens the crisis in besieged areas like El Fasher, where over 800,000 civilians are trapped. According to WFP’s Executive Director’s public remarks in May 2025, persistent insecurity and deliberate targeting of aid workers have made it nearly impossible to reach these populations with food or medical supplies. This most recent strike signals a dangerous escalation in the war’s assault on humanitarian space and imperils the delivery of critical aid.
The Sudanese Alliance for Rights calls for an immediate, independent international investigation into the Al-Kuma attack. We urge the United Nations, the African Union, and all relevant international stakeholders to take concrete steps to ensure accountability for this violation of international humanitarian law. All parties to the conflict must guarantee unimpeded humanitarian access and protection for aid workers, in accordance with their obligations under international law. We also call on donors and international partners to urgently scale up support. OCHA’s Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan for 2025 remains critically underfunded, with only 12 percent of the required funding received by mid-May, according to OCHA’s May 2025 Sudan Funding Snapshot.
We stand in solidarity with the families of the victims, with humanitarian workers risking their lives to save others, and with the people of Sudan. The attack on aid is an attack on
Sudanese Alliance for Rights
04 June 2024
