Headline
Sudan orders two top WFP officials to leave as famine risk rises and Darfur violence escalates
What happened
Sudan’s military government has expelled two senior World Food Programme (WFP) directors, declaring them “personae non grata” and giving them 72 hours to leave the country, the WFP said. No official reason was provided.
Why it matters
The expulsions occur at a critical humanitarian moment: the WFP warns that more than 24 million Sudanese face acute food insecurity. Access for aid agencies is already severely constrained by the wider conflict that began in April 2023 and by recent fighting in Darfur.
Context: el-Fasher and Darfur
The move comes days after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) captured el-Fasher in western Darfur following an 18-month siege that included a food blockade. There are fears for roughly 250,000 people remaining in the city, many from non-Arab communities, amid mounting reports of atrocities including mass killings (BBC Arabic). An escapee told BBC Arabic’s Sudan Lifeline there was looting and indiscriminate shooting on roads out of el-Fasher.
Allegations and evidence
Local activists, the el-Fasher Resistance Committee, accused the RSF of executing wounded people at the city’s Saudi Hospital. Researchers at Yale University have said satellite imagery appears to show “clusters” of bodies within the hospital grounds. The RSF denies targeting civilians.
Government and WFP responses
The Sudanese government has previously accused aid organisations of breaking local laws and publishing misleading famine reports. State news agency Suna reported that Khartoum says the expulsions will not affect cooperation with the WFP. The WFP says it is engaging with Sudanese authorities to try to resolve the situation.
Historical and international context
Observers and locals have likened the current violence to Darfur’s earlier humanitarian catastrophe (2003–2020), when the Janjaweed militia—now transformed into the RSF—was accused of genocide and ethnic cleansing. International bodies including the EU and African Union have expressed alarm.
