An aid convoy operated by the World Food Programme (WFP) near the famine-stricken town of Mellit in North Darfur was targeted on Wednesday, with three trucks set ablaze in an assault that underscores the perils of delivering humanitarian assistance in Sudan’s conflict zones. The convoy, ferrying vital food supplies to the beleaguered village of Alsayah, fortunately emerged with no casualties, but the damage signals the fraught logistics of aid distribution amid ongoing hostilities.

Mellit lies roughly 65 kilometres northeast of El-Fasher, North Darfur’s capital, which has been under the control of the Rapid Support Forces since April 2024. The continuing conflict has exacerbated hunger across Sudan, with millions at risk.

In a rare show of unified concern, a coalition of diplomatic heavyweights—including the United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Switzerland, the African Union, and the United Nations—issued a joint plea for urgent ceasefires to allow humanitarian aid to reach those in desperate need. Yet the attack near Mellit reveals the tenuous nature of such calls, as warring factions continue to jeopardise the lives and livelihoods of civilians.

The challenge now is whether diplomacy can overcome violence to stem the spiralling hunger crisis in Sudan.