Khartoum, in Sudan, receives the first aid convoy since the war began

A convoy carrying food aid arrived in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, for the first time since the civil war broke out in April 2023.

The country is currently experiencing the “worst hunger crisis in the world”, according to the United Nations, as a result of fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

When trucks loaded with aid arrived south of Khartoum on Thursday, there were “tears of laughter and joy”, aid worker Duaa Tariq told the BBC.

Aid agencies have long complained that security threats and roadblocks, set up by warring sides, have hampered vital deliveries.

For Thursday’s advance to occur, UN agencies and Sudanese community groups negotiated with the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

“There were tears, tears of laughter and joy and tears of a lot of effort and exhaustion to organize this… it was a great moment,” Ms Tariq, who works with the Sudanese humanitarian group Emergency Response Rooms, told the BBC.

The convoy consisted of 28 trucks. Unicef, which sent five of the vehicles, said it was able to deliver “life-saving” food and health supplies to Al Bashayer hospital and other health centers in Khartoum.

“Here in Khartoum, we desperately need this help. We have been waiting for it and we have tried many ways and methods to avoid this, but the only way to help reduce the effect of famine in Khartoum, at this time, will receive this help,” stated Mrs. Tariq.

Just a few days earlier, an independent group of food safety experts He warned that Sudan is sliding towards a “deepening famine crisis”.

About half of the population – 24.6 million people – are in urgent need of food assistance, according to the Integrated Food Phase Classification (IPC).

The army and RSF staged a joint coup in 2021, but a power struggle between their commanders plunged the country into civil war 20 months ago.

In May, the US special envoy for Sudan, Tom Perriello, said some estimates suggested that up to 150,000 people had died in the conflict.

More than 11 million people have been forced to leave their homes.

So far, several mediation efforts aimed at ending the conflict between the army and the RSF have failed.