WFP: Rapid Support Forces Looted Our Stock in Medani

moatinoon
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) accused the Rapid Support Forces of looting food supplies from its warehouse in the Gezira state last week.

In a statement on Thursday, WFP strongly condemned the intrusion of elements from the quasi-military Sudanese Rapid Support Forces into the warehouse and office after seizing control of Wad Madani.

The organization added that the warehouse contains sufficient stock to feed nearly 1.5 million people suffering from severe food insecurity for one month in the Gezira state.

Michael Danford, the Regional Director for WFP in East Africa, stated, "This is intolerable and must stop," urging the Rapid Support Forces to ensure the protection of humanitarian aid, personnel, and buildings in the areas under their control.

The WFP warehouse holds over 2,500 metric tons of life-saving food items, including pulses, maize, vegetable oils, and nutritional supplements. The goal of these specialized nutritious foods is to prevent malnutrition and support the treatment of over 20,000 children, pregnant women, and lactating mothers through the organizations health centers.

The WFP was forced to temporarily suspend distribution operations in the Gezira state at the end of last week. The organization is reshaping its humanitarian response and has started some distribution operations in the eastern states where people fleeing from Gezira are seeking refuge.

The organization emphasized that its operations "serve as a lifeline for about a million desperate people in the Gezira state, and looting buildings undermines our operations at a time when nearly 18 million people are facing severe hunger."

WFP has supported over 5.6 million people in seventeen out of eighteen states across Sudan with food and nutrition assistance since the conflict erupted in mid-April 2023. Earlier this month, the agency warned of an imminent famine disaster if people cannot receive aid.