UN: 38 aid trucks enter Sudan through Adre crossing

Thirty-eight humanitarian aid trucks, carrying 1,253 tonnes of supplies, have entered Sudan through the Adre border crossing with Chad, the UN said on Monday.

These supplies are intended to assist 119,000 people.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated that since the Sudanese Sovereign Council announced the reopening of the Adre border crossing with Chad on 15 August to address urgent needs, 38 trucks from various UN agencies and organisations have crossed into Sudan.

🚨Breaking: 38 trucks have crossed the Adre border from Chad into Sudan carrying much-needed emergency shelter & non-food items, food, livelihood, & nutrition supplies.
Read more: https://t.co/il8Ub7gmsq pic.twitter.com/3RHiT0Z4yI

— UN OCHA Sudan (@UNOCHA_Sudan) August 27, 2024

OCHA highlighted that after more than 16 months of conflict between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Sudan is facing a devastating hunger crisis on a large scale, with more than half of the population experiencing severe hunger.

“More than half of the population is facing acute hunger and in early August 2024, famine conditions were confirmed in the Zamzam IDP camp in North Darfur State. Thousands more are likely to experience similar conditions in 13 other areas at risk of famine,” it said.

The statement also pointed out that “Access restrictions and severe funding shortfalls are impeding humanitarians’ ability to scale up the response to stave off hunger and famine.”

On 25 July, the Sudanese government blocked the entry of any trucks through the Adre crossing, citing concerns that it was being used to smuggle weapons to the RSF. The RSF has not commented on the allegations.

Since mid-April 2023, the Sudanese army and the RSF have been engaged in a conflict that has resulted in approximately 18,800 deaths and displaced nearly ten million persons and refugees, according to the United Nations.

UN and international calls for an end to the war are intensifying, as the conflict threatens to plunge Sudan into a humanitarian catastrophe, pushing millions towards famine and death due to food shortages resulting from the fighting, which has spread to 13 of the country’s 18 states.

OPINION: Beware the derogators as the Geneva Conventions turn 75