Recent attacks on trucks contracted by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) to transport food to Darfur and Southern Sudan have slowed down deliveries and affected the UN agency's ability to support returnees, the agency warned."Because of truck hijackings, we are moving about half the amount of food that we should be moving into Darfur to pre-position ahead of the rainy season," Peter Smerdon, WFP spokesman in Nairobi, told IRIN. "If this continues in the South we might start having the same problem."
"Attacks against vehicles delivering humanitarian assistance are completely unacceptable," Ebenezer Tagoe, WFP Sudan deputy director, said in a statement. "The continued insecurity on the roads in areas where we operate presents not only a serious threat to the drivers, but also to vulnerable people who depend on this food for their survival," Tagoe added.
Attacks on transporters has made WFP move about half the amount of food it should be moving into Darfur to pre-position ahead of the rainy season. According to the office of the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, nearly 90 people working with humanitarian operations in Darfur have been abducted, mostly during hijacking incidents, since the beginning of 2008.