As the region struggles with an intensifying humanitarian crisis, the Darfur regional government accused Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of robbing and impeding assistance convoys on Monday.
Days after Sudanese officials decided to open the border for three months, vehicles delivering help from humanitarian groups entered Darfur from Chad, leading to the claims. Aid meant for many cities in the region was allegedly “seized, confiscated, obstructed, and looted” by the RSF, according to a statement from the Darfur government.
The World Health Organization’s goods, intended for El Fasher, Kutum, and the Zamzam camp for displaced people, were detained in Al-Kouma and looted during convoys between Kass and Zalingei in Central Darfur, according to the report.
Additionally, the statement charged that the RSF had blocked a convoy of Doctors Without Borders traveling to El Fasher and had kept aid from the U.N. refugee agency in Mellit for more than a month.
The claims have not received a response from the RSF. General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, its commander, has already given orders for his troops to safeguard people and make relief delivery easier.
The state capital of El Fasher, which has been under siege since April, was the target of a major attack that the RSF was preparing to launch, the Darfur administration added.
A serious humanitarian catastrophe has been brought on by the fighting in Sudan, which started in April between the army and the RSF. The fighting has resulted in thousands of deaths and millions of displacements, especially in Darfur, an area with a history of ethnic conflict and brutality.