Three United Nations workers from the World Food Program (WFP) were killed in an attack on their office in Sudan’s Blue Nile state, the Sudanese government confirmed on Friday.
The Sudanese Foreign Ministry reported that the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) informed them of the shelling of the WFP office in the Yabus area, near the Ethiopian border, which resulted in the deaths of three staff members.
The ministry condemned the attack on UN personnel and humanitarian agencies, emphasizing that the Sudanese army was not involved in military operations in that area.
It further noted that authorities are investigating the incident to determine who was responsible for the attack.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the rival paramilitary group, has not yet responded to the Sudanese Foreign Ministry’s statement.
Since April 2023, Sudan has been embroiled in violent clashes between the army and the RSF over issues related to military reform and integration. The conflict has led to over 20,000 deaths, displaced millions, and left more than 25 million people in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, according to the United Nations.