The World Food Programme (WFP) announced on Wednesday that its two top officials in Sudan had been ordered by the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to leave within 72 hours, without any explanation.
In a statement, the WFP said:
> “The decision to expel the WFP Country Director and the Emergency Coordinator comes at a critical moment, as humanitarian needs in Sudan are greater than ever — with more than 24 million people facing acute food insecurity.”
The agency added that it, along with senior United Nations officials, had protested the decision in communications with Sudanese authorities.
> “At a time when the WFP and its partners should be scaling up their activities, this decision forces the organization to make unplanned changes that threaten operations providing life-saving assistance to millions of Sudanese on the brink of famine,” the statement continued.
The expulsions were announced just days after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized control of El Fasher, a strategic city in the Darfur region.
The RSF, which has been at war with the Sudanese Armed Forces since April 2023, launched a decisive offensive in recent days, capturing the army’s last remaining positions in the city.
The fall of El Fasher to the RSF has raised widespread fears of massacres against civilians in the city.
