Tragic Air Strike in South Kordofan Claims Life of UN Food Aid Truck Driver

An air strike targeting United Nations trucks in South Kordofan, Sudan, has resulted in the death of a driver, the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) announced.

Released on Sunday, a statement from the WFP confirmed that the convoy of food aid trucks was "clearly marked as humanitarian vehicles" during the attack. The agency refrained from naming those responsible for the strike.

The incident occurred on Saturday as the convoy transited between two government-controlled cities operated by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) within South Kordofan state. Conflict within the Kordofan region escalated sharply in late 2025, transforming the area into a critical battleground between the SAF and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The ongoing civil war between these two factions for control of Sudan has persisted for over three years.

Assessments regarding the full extent of the damage and additional details of the attack on the WFP aid trucks remain ongoing. Consequently, the UN agency has formally requested an investigation.

"These incidents underscore the increasingly challenging security environment in Sudan and the risks that aid workers face when delivering life-saving assistance to communities in need," the statement noted.

Since the onset of the war in April 2023, one in five attacks in Sudan has taken place in the Kordofan region. While the army maintains the northern territory following recent gains, the RSF controls much of the west, leaving South Kordofan fiercely contested. Both the SAF and RSF have increasingly utilized drones, leading to frequent and lethal attacks on towns in North Kordofan and widespread targeting of civilian infrastructure.

The civil war has forcibly displaced 14 million people, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and plunging the nation into a severe modern food crisis. An Integrated Food Security Phase Classification assessment indicated that nearly 19.5 million people—approximately 41 percent of Sudan’s population—faced acute food crises between February and May, with over five million experiencing extreme, life-threatening food shortages and 135,000 facing the risk of famine.