Bombardment kills 3 UN food agency staff in Sudan -WFP

ROME — The UN expressed outrage Friday after three World Food Programme (WFP) staff were killed in an "aerial bombardment" in Sudan, but said it would keep working in the conflict-ravaged country.

WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain called for a thorough investigation into the "appalling incident", while a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was "outraged".

War has raged since April 2023 between the Sudanese army under de facto ruler Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

"I am shocked and heartbroken by the tragic deaths of three members of the WFP Sudan country team," McCain said in a statement.

The trio ,  the head of field office, a programme associate and a security guard , were killed "after an aerial bombardment hit the WFP Field Office Compound in Yabus, Blue Nile State" on Thursday evening, she said.

One staff member died immediately, while the other two were critically injured and died while being transferred for treatment.

The WFP was urgently working to establish what happened, McCain said, adding: "I demand a thorough investigation and for the perpetrators to be held accountable."

McCain said the victims -- whose nationalities and names were not published,  had been "carrying out life-saving duties on the frontlines of one of the world's largest hunger crises".

"WFP remains committed to delivering humanitarian assistance across Sudan, including in Blue Nile State," the agency chief said.

"WFP will stay and deliver vital food and nutrition aid across all locations in Sudan. This is what our fallen colleagues would have wanted."

However, she called on world leaders to advocate for better protection for humanitarian workers in general, saying a record number had died in 2024.

The WFP on Thursday warned that Sudan risks becoming the world's largest hunger crisis in recent history, with 1.7 million people across the country either experiencing famine or at risk of famine.