The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said that two of its team drivers were killed and three more staff members injured as a result of an attack by armed men in the Sudanese state of South Darfur controlled by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
"It is with great sadness that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirms that two of its drivers were killed by gunmen on Thursday in South Darfur, Sudan. Three other ICRC staff were injured," the ICRC said in a statement on Thursday.
The attack took place when the ICRC team was on its way back from the village of Layba to "assess the humanitarian situation of communities affected by armed violence," the statement read.
The ICRC called for protection of humanitarian workers and medical personnel who "must never be directly attacked."
On April 15, 2023, clashes broke out between the Sudanese army and the RSF. The parties to the conflict have since introduced a number of temporary nationwide ceasefires, but none has helped settle the conflict. In late October, the parties resumed negotiations, mediated by Saudi Arabia in Jeddah, but the hostilities in the country continue. Sudanese Health Minister Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim told Sputnik earlier this month that more than 13,000 people had been killed and over 30,000 others injured during one year of the armed conflict in Sudan.