3 WFP drivers killed in Darfur
2007-10-17 15:21
Khartoum - Armed men shot dead three World Food Programme (WFP) drivers in the southern Darfur region of Sudan, said the United Nations agency on Wednesday.
Kenro Oshidari, WFP country director, said: "WFP is deeply saddened and shocked by the killings of these brave men, who knew the dangers they were facing, but continued to work tirelessly to alleviate suffering and bring food to the hungry in Darfur."
The drivers, contracted to WFP from the Sudanese private Abbarci company, were killed in two incidents in South Darfur.
One attack on Tuesday killed two men near the towns of Haskanita and Muhajiriya, where recent assaults on civilians and African Union peacekeepers left dozens of people dead.
The other driver was shot last Friday on the road between the South Darfur state capital, Nyala, and Darfur's main town el-Fasher, said the WFP.
The world's largest aid operation helped at least four million in Darfur, where almost five years of conflict had killed an estimated 200 000 people.
The recent upsurge in violence preceded peace talks due to start on October 27 in Libya. Fractious rebels were meeting in south Sudan's capital, Juba, to try to reach a unified position to ease negotiations.