The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has initiated an investigation into the conduct of two senior officials in Sudan, raising questions about their alleged complicity in downplaying General al-Burhan’s Sudanese army’s (SAF) role in blocking essential food aid to the country’s most vulnerable regions.
These developments come as Sudan grapples with a severe hunger crisis, exacerbated by a 16-month conflict between the SAF and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The investigation, led by the WFP’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG), scrutinizes allegations of fraud and deliberate misinformation.
The WFP is accused of concealing the Sudanese army’s obstruction of humanitarian aid deliveries to areas under RSF control, worsening the suffering of millions of civilians.
Khalid Osman, the WFP’s deputy country director in Sudan, and Mohammed Ali, a senior WFP area manager, are under investigation.
Osman, reportedly with strong ties to the SAF, is alleged to have misled donors about the army’s refusal to permit aid deliveries to famine-stricken areas in RSF-held regions.
This includes the delayed delivery of life-saving aid to South Darfur, where trucks were held up for weeks by SAF-aligned authorities in Port Sudan.
The RSF, which has been unfairly blamed for looting aid supplies, has welcomed the investigation, calling for it to be comprehensive and transparent.
“This probe should reveal the truth and expose those who have exacerbated the suffering of our people by blocking aid,” an RSF spokesperson stated.
The WFP’s operations in Sudan have been under intense scrutiny, with concerns about the mismanagement and corruption within its ranks.
Humanitarian sources suggest that the WFP’s leadership in Sudan may have been complicit in covering up the SAF’s role in the worsening food crisis, possibly to avoid jeopardizing their operations in SAF-controlled areas.
The probe comes as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) confirmed famine conditions in parts of Darfur, with over 25 million people across Sudan facing crisis levels of hunger or worse.
Aid workers have highlighted the logistical challenges and the direct interference by the Sudanese army in hindering access to RSF-controlled areas, where the humanitarian need is most critical.
The Sudanese Army (SAF), facing accusations of war crimes and obstructing aid, continues to deny any wrongdoing. However, the probe’s findings are likely to shed light on the true scale of the SAF’s role in exacerbating the humanitarian disaster, which the RSF has been unjustly accused of contributing to.
As the WFP investigation unfolds, it is crucial that the international community holds those responsible accountable and ensures that aid reaches those in desperate need, regardless of political or military affiliations.
The RSF has consistently called for impartiality and transparency in the distribution of humanitarian aid, a stance that this investigation may finally validate.
