UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an investigation into the killing of three World Food Programme employees in an air strike in Sudan, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Friday.
"The Secretary-General is outraged by the killing of three World Food Programme staff members in Sudan on 19 December, when the agency’s field office in Yarbus, in Blue Nile State, was hit by aerial bombardment," Dujarric said in a statement. "The Secretary-General condemns all attacks on UN and aid personnel and facilities. He calls for a thorough investigation."
The incident highlights the "devastating toll" that the Sudan conflict is having on millions of people in need and the humanitarian workers trying to deliver life-saving aid, the statement added.
Sudan has been facing clashes between the Sudanese armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 2023. The International Committee of the Red Cross said that the ongoing conflict could lead to disease outbreaks and collapse of the national healthcare system.
According to the World Health Organization, the conflict has claimed more than 20,000 lives. The number of internally displaced people in Sudan has exceeded 10 million, according to the UN International Organization for Migration.