UN convoy attacked in Sudan’s Darfur amid intensifying El-Fasher siege
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A UN aid convoy en route to El-Fasher in Sudan’s famine-stricken Darfur was attacked, with both the army and RSF trading accusations.
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The damaged UN aid truck after being targeted in El-Fasher, Sudan, June 3, 2025 (X/Sudan_tweet)
A United Nations convoy delivering critical humanitarian aid to the besieged city of El-Fasher in the Western Sudanese Darfur region came under attack on Monday, UNICEF reported, with initial accounts indicating multiple casualties. The convoy included vehicles from both UNICEF and the World Food Programme.
The incident occurred in al-Koma, North Darfur, as the convoy awaited clearance to proceed toward El-Fasher, the only major city in Darfur not under the control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). UNICEF spokesperson Eva Hinds confirmed the attack but did not identify the perpetrators.
Both warring factions have accused each other of carrying out the strike. The Sudanese government affirmed that RSF drones targeted the aid trucks deliberately to obstruct humanitarian operations. In response, the RSF accused the army of launching an airstrike on the convoy.
The Sudanese government condemns the #RSF targeting of a UN humanitarian aid convoy in the Kuma area. The aid was destined to rescue thousands of civilians trapped in El Fasher and displacement camps. #Sudan pic.twitter.com/SwmWilc6Gu
— Sudan News (@Sudan_tweet) June 3, 2025
El-Fasher under prolonged RSF siege
El-Fasher has endured over a year of siege by the RSF, which has escalated its assaults on the city in recent months in an effort to seize full control of Darfur after losing Khartoum in March. The RSF has launched repeated artillery attacks on the city and its surrounding displacement camps, killing hundreds and displacing hundreds of thousands.
The attack on the UN convoy marks the latest blow to efforts aimed at delivering aid to famine-stricken civilians as accusations of using starvation as a weapon of war and of deliberately obstructing humanitarian access continue mounting.
In North Darfur alone, over one million people are on the brink of mass starvation, according to UN estimates. Aid agencies warn that the inability to deliver food, water, and medicine to besieged areas like El-Fasher could lead to a catastrophic loss of life.
RSF restricts aid deliveries
As civilians continue suffering under the suffocating siege, the RSF imposed new restrictions on aid deliveries in March in territories under its control, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis, aid workers say, as cited by Reuters.
Relief workers have previously accused RSF fighters of looting aid during more than two years of ongoing war in Sudan. They also accuse the army of blocking or hindering access to RSF-held areas, exacerbating hunger and disease.
A dozen aid workers, speaking to Reuters, said that since late last year, the RSF has begun demanding higher fees and oversight of operational processes, such as hiring local staff and security, matching practices used by army-aligned authorities, and further tightening access. The moves have not been previously reported, but aid groups have been attempting to push back against them.
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