A United Nations flight landed at Khartoum International Airport on Thursday, marking the first such flight since Sudan’s nearly three-year-long war began, the UN humanitarian coordinator for the country said. Denise Brown described the event as “a big deal” for aid workers striving to reach millions of Sudanese in urgent need.
Since April 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in a devastating conflict between the national army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced approximately 11 million people. Khartoum, initially captured by the RSF, has been slowly recovering since the army retook the capital in March last year.
“I’d like to reiterate how pleased I am to have taken the first United Nations Humanitarian Air Service flight to Khartoum in three years,” Brown said after stepping off the aircraft. “It’s a big deal for the humanitarian community.” The flight had originated from Port Sudan, a key Red Sea city.
Khartoum airport suffered extensive damage during the early stages of the conflict and was one of the RSF’s last strongholds. Although renovations have taken place, the airport was targeted by drone strikes last year, including one on the eve of its planned reopening in October.
“Being able to get around Sudan, which is a huge country, in a plane is going to facilitate our work,” Brown noted. She was travelling onwards to the Kordofan region, where the cities of Kadugli and Dilling were besieged for months before being relieved by army forces.
Brown explained that humanitarian access to these cities had been effectively impossible during the conflict. “We were not able to get supplies in. We had to remove our staff for their own safety,” she said. Humanitarian deliveries resumed only last week, with more than 50 trucks carrying essential supplies to frontline responders.
The UN official also highlighted the severe impact of the war on food security. “Available data suggests there are currently famine conditions in Dilling, though this has not been officially confirmed,” she said. Famine has already been confirmed in El-Fasher and Kadugli by UN-backed assessments.
“It’s essential that the world understands the consequences of war,” Brown stressed, urging global leaders to “put their heads together to find a solution.”
The resumption of flights to Khartoum is expected to significantly improve the UN’s capacity to deliver humanitarian aid and coordinate relief efforts across Sudan, particularly in regions previously inaccessible due to ongoing conflict.
