The U.N. World Food Program suspended food convoys to the Darfur region in western Sudan after rebel forces attacked the market town of Ghubaysh and the government retaliated, U.N. humanitarian officials said. The relief agency halted three convoys of 70 trucks carrying more than 1,300 million tons of food destined for El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, and Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Tuesday.
The attack Monday on Ghubaysh in West Kordofan follows weeks of insecurity in Darfur in which both rebel and government-backed forces have attacked each other. It was the second attack by the rebel Sudan Liberation Army since Dec. 19 when the Sudanese government agreed to an immediate cessation of hostilities, U.N. officials said. The recent insecurity has effectively blocked overland access from central Sudan to the Darfur region for U.N. and other relief agencies, the U.N. Humanitarian office known as OCHA said. As a result, some 260,000 people will miss their December rations in South Darfur as well as eastern parts of West Darfur, it said. |