Article – Yesterday’s drone attack on a United Nations food convoy in Sudan’s Darfur region marks yet another devastating blow to humanitarian efforts in a country facing what could become one of the world’s worst famines in decades.
I’ve spent the past week interviewing aid workers in eastern Chad, where thousands of Sudanese refugees continue to arrive daily. Their stories consistently point to a deliberate weaponization of hunger that goes beyond the incident reported yesterday.
“We had just crossed from Chad with sixteen trucks carrying enough food to sustain 20,000 people for a month,” explained Mohammed Diallo, a World Food Programme logistics coordinator I spoke with via satellite phone after the attack. “The drones appeared without warning. We lost everything – supplies, vehicles, and tragically, three drivers.”
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), this is the twelfth attack on humanitarian convoys in Darfur since May. The agency estimates that nearly 18 million Sudanese now face acute food insecurity, with 5 million approaching famine conditions.
What makes this situation particularly alarming is the sophisticated nature of the attack. The Turkish-made drones used in the assault require considerable technical expertise to operate, suggesting direct involvement from either the Sudanese Armed Forces or the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces – both of which deny responsibility.
“We’re seeing warfare tactics evolve in real-time,” noted Dr. Amira Hassan of the Sudanese Professionals Association, whom I met in N’Djamena last week. “These aren’t random attacks but calculated efforts to control population movements and resources.”
The timing couldn’t be worse. Darfur is entering what local farmers call the “hunger gap” – the period between harvests when food stocks traditionally run low. With agricultural production down by an estimated 65% according to the Food and Agriculture Organization, communities have become entirely dependent on external assistance.
In El Fasher, North Darfur’s capital currently under siege, hospital records I reviewed show a 340% increase in severe acute malnutrition cases among children under five compared to this time last year. Medical staff are treating these cases without basic supplies, often using homemade oral rehydration solutions.
The geopolitical dimensions of this crisis cannot be overlooked. While Western nations have issued strong condemnations, their practical response has been limited. The European Union pledged €350 million in humanitarian assistance earlier this month, but aid workers on the ground tell me less than 20% has materialized due to logistical challenges and security concerns.
Meanwhile, regional dynamics complicate delivery routes. Egypt’s recent decision to restrict border crossings from its territory has forced aid organizations to rely more heavily on the Chad-Darfur corridor – precisely where yesterday’s attack occurred.
“We’re running out of options,” Fatima Bensouda, former International Criminal Court prosecutor now advising several humanitarian organizations, told me during a conference call last week. “When food becomes a military target, we’re witnessing a violation of the most fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.”
What distinguishes this conflict from others I’ve covered is the systematic targeting of critical infrastructure. Beyond food convoys, attacks have disabled water treatment facilities, hospitals, and communications networks across Darfur. The United Nations Security Council has scheduled an emergency session for tomorrow, but expectations for meaningful action remain low among those I’ve spoken with in the field.
For perspective, it’s worth noting that the current crisis bears uncomfortable similarities to the Darfur genocide of the early 2000s. Many survivors of that conflict, like Ibrahim Suleiman who now coordinates a network of displacement camps near El Geneina, see familiar patterns emerging.
“Twenty years ago, they used the Janjaweed on horseback. Today, they use drones,” Suleiman told me. “But the strategy remains the same – control who eats and who starves.”
As international attention remains divided between other global crises, Sudan risks becoming what one USAID official described to me as a “forgotten emergency.” Yesterday’s attack underscores the urgent need for protected humanitarian corridors and accountability mechanisms for those targeting civilian infrastructure.
Without immediate intervention, health officials project that child mortality rates in Darfur could exceed those recorded during Ethiopia’s 1983-1985 famine, which claimed an estimated 600,000 lives. The technology may have changed, but the deadly calculation remains the same: hunger as a weapon works because food cannot wait.
