Attack on ICRC convoy in Sudan's South Darfur kills two drivers, wounds three

The team was on its way back from Layba to assess the humanitarian situation of communities affected by armed violence in the region when the incident occurred, the ICRC said.

 A boy sits atop a hill overlooking a refugee camp near the Chad-Sudan border, November 9, 2023. Hundreds of Masalit families from Sudan's West Darfur state were relocated here months after fleeing to the Chadian border town of Adre, following an ethnically targeted massacre in El Geneina. (photo credit: REUTERS/EL TAYEB SIDDIG)
A boy sits atop a hill overlooking a refugee camp near the Chad-Sudan border, November 9, 2023. Hundreds of Masalit families from Sudan's West Darfur state were relocated here months after fleeing to the Chadian border town of Adre, following an ethnically targeted massacre in El Geneina.
(photo credit: REUTERS/EL TAYEB SIDDIG)

An attack by gunmen on a humanitarian convoy of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Sudan's South Darfur killed two drivers and injured three other staff on Thursday, the ICRC said in a statement.

The team was on its way back from Layba to assess the humanitarian situation of communities affected by armed violence in the region when the incident occurred, the ICRC said.

More than a year of war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has driven at least 8.5 million people from their homes. Fighting tore through the capital and has unleashed waves of ethnically-driven violence in the western region of Darfur.

No word on who is to blame

The ICRC did not say who was to blame for the deaths and called for the immediate protection of all civilians, including humanitarian workers and medical personnel.

 The Middle East chief of The International Committee of the Red Cross, Fabrizio Carboni, arrives in a convoy to visit an ICRC warehouse in Qlayaa, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon March 6, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/AZIZ TAHER)
The Middle East chief of The International Committee of the Red Cross, Fabrizio Carboni, arrives in a convoy to visit an ICRC warehouse in Qlayaa, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon March 6, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/AZIZ TAHER)

"Reports today of the deaths of two ICRC staff members and the injury of three staff members in South Darfur is further evidence of this war's horrific cost. These dedicated employees became victims of the violence and suffering they were working to mitigate," U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan, Tom Perriello, said on X on Friday.