The United Nations said Friday it was ready to start delivering food into war-torn Sudan's western Darfur region after the government decided to reopen a key border crossing with Chad.
The months-long closure of the Adre crossing has been a major concern for humanitarian organisations struggling to get food and supplies into Darfur as the conflict rages on.
War erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese army under the country's de facto ruler Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.
The conflict has unleashed one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
Millions face hunger
More than 25 million people - more than half its population - face acute hunger. Famine has been declared in a Darfur displacement camp.
The UN's World Food Programme welcomed the reopening of the Adre crossing and said it was in a race against time to save lives.
"The opening of this critical humanitarian corridor through Adre will enable us to deliver aid into Sudan's conflict-riddled Darfur region, where famine was confirmed just two weeks ago," WFP Sudan spokeswoman Leni Kinzli told a media briefing from Nairobi.
"Vital food and nutrition supplies" would be taken through the crossing in coming weeks, she added.
"WFP urgently needs all other border crossings into Sudan to open," she said.
Convoys loaded
She said two convoys with nearly 6,000 tonnes of food for around 500,000 people were being loaded, destined for Darfur areas at risk of famine, as soon as government clearance was received.
Tine, the only other crossing from Chad into Sudan, has been largely impassable for nearly a month due to floods. Thirty WFP trucks have been unable to cross into Darfur.
More than 50 WFP trucks with around 4,800 tonnes of food and nutrition are also stuck in locations across Sudan due to the flooding.
The decision to open the Adre crossing comes as the United States starts talks in Switzerland aimed at brokering a ceasefire and improving humanitarian access.
The Sudanese armed forces (SAF) have not come to the talks, which are being held in an undisclosed location. Tom Perriello, the US special envoy for Sudan, is convening the meeting.
Hundreds of thousands displaced
"The opening of Adre border crossing is an important result at a crucial time for humanitarian efforts to deliver assistance to those most in need and to avoid a worsening famine," he said on the X social media platform.
"We continue our efforts to save Sudanese lives and silence the guns. The RSF remains here ready for talks to start; SAF needs to decide to come."
Kinzli said around 755,000 people faced catastrophic hunger, out of options and surviving by eating grass and leaves.
"It is critical for the warring parties to leave the battlefield and show up at the negotiation table so we can get food moving to hunger-struck communities acr oss the country in time, before it is too late," she said.
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