On Wednesday Sudanese authorities stepped into action, after food-assistance branch of the United Nations (UN), the World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse located at El Fasher town in North Darfur State of Sudan looted by an unknown armed group on Tuesday. The armed group also set the warehouse on fire and destroyed it. Meanwhile, eyewitness told that firefight occurred between armed group and security forces responsible for protecting the warehouse. After the looting attack, authorities declared statewide curfew between 6:00 PM and 5:00 AM. North Darfur State’s Police Chief Abdul-Karim Hamdo urged that local residents to abide by the statewide curfew for their own safety.

Also, UN Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Khardiata Lo N’Diaye condemned the looting of food supplies from a WFP warehouse in El Fasher. “One in three people in Sudan needs humanitarian assistance. Such an attack severely impedes our ability to deliver to the people who need it the most. We urgently ask all parties to adhere to humanitarian principles and allow the safe delivery of life-saving assistance,” Khardiata Lo N’Diaye said.

According to initial reports released by UN, “The WFP warehouse located in the Borsa area of El Fasher town, the capital of North Darfur State, contained up to 1,900 metric tonnes of food, meant for hundreds of thousands of food-insecure people in that area.” UN also stated that this comes amid unprecedented funding shortfalls for WFP, estimated at 358 million US Dollars.