Five humanitarian workers killed in Sudan after attack on aid convoy

Five people have been killed in an attack on a humanitarian aid convoy in Sudan, the United Nations confirmed on Tuesday.

The attack happened on Monday night, near the town of El Koma in North Darfur province, as the convoy was trying to reach El Fasher city.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, described the incident as a "horrendous act of violence."

"This joint WFP-UNICEF convoy was made up of 15 trucks, and it had traveled over 1,800 kilometers from Port Sudan. And they were carrying nutrition supplies and food," Dujarric told reporters during a briefing at UN headquarters in New York.

"The agencies were negotiating access to complete the journey to El Fasher when it was attacked. The route that the convoy it was going to take was shared in advance with the parties on the ground who were notified and aware of the location of the trucks. Multiple of our trucks were burnt in the attack and critical humanitarian supplies were damaged. This is devastating that the supplies have not reached the civilians in need. This was the first UN humanitarian convoy that was going to make it to El Fasher in over one year."

The UN has not said who was responsible. Sudan's warring parties are trading blame.

Sudan was plunged into a civil war more than two years ago, when tensions between the army and rival paramilitaries exploded with street battles across the country. The war, which has displaced millions of people, has been marked by atrocities, including mass rape and ethnically motivated violence, particularly in the western region of Darfur.