WFP concern after Barurud security incident

The WFP on Wednesday contacted the government of Sudan to express concern about a security incident in Barurud, northwestern Bahr al-Ghazal, in which bombs dropped from an Antonov aircraft narrowly missed a World Food Programme (WFP) Hercules as it approached for an emergency humanitarian food drop. The incident happened at about 9 am local time and the WFP air crew immediately aborted the drop, spokeswoman Brenda Barton told IRIN. An unknown number of bombs fell very close to the drop site, where two WFP staff were on the ground, and a security team went in later in the day to investigate the situation and evacuate the agency’s staff, she said.

WFP immediately informed the government, expressing its concern and its hope that this was a one-off event. Any repetition of such a serious incident had the potential to put the whole humanitarian operation in jeopardy, Barton said. The agency is currently at the peak of its air operations in southern Sudan, flying a total of 15 aircraft and moving about 300 mt of food per day, in an effort to bridge the hunger gap between now and the next potential harvest in October/November. WFP planned to preposition a total of 82 mt of food for people expected to be fleeing to Barurud from recent fighting between government troops and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), according to Barton. After Wednesday’s incident, the agency would be taking strict security measures on travel into this area, she added. [for more details, see separate IRIN report of 8 June headlined: SUDAN: Close call for WFP in Bahr al-Ghazal bombing”]