The UN World Food Program (WFP) said today that it has temporarily suspended its activities in Sudan. after three of its employees were killed in clashes between the Sudanese army and paramilitary operational support forces the day before.

“While we review the evolving security situation, we are forced to temporarily suspend all operations in Sudan,” said WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain.

“WFP is committed to helping the Sudanese people facing food insecurity, but we cannot do our job of saving lives unless our teams and partners are safe.”

Three WFP employees were killed and two injured in clashes in Kabkabiya, North Darfur. WFP told Reuters that all three workers killed were Sudanese.

McCain also said WFP staff had a hard time working after a United Nations Humanitarian Aviation Agency (UNHAS) plane was “significantly damaged” at Sudan’s Khartoum airport in a shootout yesterday.

The episode, he said, severely impacted the agency’s ability to deploy humanitarian workers and provide assistance to Sudan.

Source: RES