Sudanese authorities have finally authorized humanitarian aid from Chad to enter their territory, announced Clémentine Kweta-Salami, the United Nations’ humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, on Tuesday evening.
For several days, discussions have been ongoing between the United Nations and the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Eventually, the Port Sudan authorities agreed to allow humanitarian aid from Chad to pass through to Darfur, via the town of Tina.
For the past 15 days, convoys destined for this region have been blocked at the Chadian border because Port Sudan authorities suspect Chad of allowing arms to pass through for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which are fighting the Sudanese army.
Consequently, humanitarian convoys from South Sudan will be able to reach the White Nile State via the town of Renk, and flights will be organized to El Fasher, Kadugli, and El-Obeid airports in Darfur and Kordofan, detailed our correspondent in Nairobi, Gaëlle Laleix.
The United Nations’ humanitarian coordinator on-site assures that contacts have already been made with local authorities and involved parties to expedite the resumption of convoys.
“There is no time to waste,” she commented. According to the World Food Programme (WFP), the conflict ravaging Sudan for nearly eleven months risks causing “the greatest hunger crisis in the world,” it warned on Wednesday, March 6th. According to the WFP, currently, less than 5% of Sudanese can afford a full meal per day, and 18 million are facing acute food insecurity, with 5 million reaching the last stage before famine.