The attack was carried out using an unmanned aircraft belonging to Sudan's Armed Forces and targeted two trucks carrying food aid to Kadagali, according to Sky News Arabia sources. Both vehicles bore the flag and logo of the World Food Programme clearly and had previously notified the conflicting parties about the convoy's route and movements.
An international joint statement confirmed that the convoy was subjected to an aerial attack outside Dalinj on 30 August, and that both trucks were carrying humanitarian aid and bore World Food Programme identification marks clearly. The attack resulted in injuries to two civilian drivers and destroyed more than 50 tonnes of food supplies, including grains, yellow peas, vegetable oil, and salt—an amount sufficient to provide life-saving assistance to approximately 5,800 people for one full month.
The two trucks were heading to Kadagali, where the World Food Programme provides assistance to approximately 58,000 people facing emergency levels of food insecurity or worse. The programme stated that the attack occurred in an increasingly dangerous environment that is hampering its humanitarian operations in Sudan, and noted that it has recorded eight aerial attacks since the start of 2026 that have caused damage to facilities and disrupted its activities.
The calls for investigation came in a joint statement issued by the missions of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland, Germany, France, Denmark, Canada, Norway, and the European Union as members of the "Coalition to Prevent Atrocities and Achieve Justice in Sudan." The statement asserted that targeting humanitarian workers and relief operations constitutes a violation of international humanitarian law, and noted that all necessary notifications about convoy movements had been provided to the conflicting parties.
The signatory countries regard the attack as another example of escalating damage caused by the war of unmanned aircraft against civilians and civilian property, after attacks have expanded to markets, health facilities, refugee camps, and other places where civilians depend for survival. The statement also sends a message to outside parties supplying weapons and unmanned aircraft to the warring parties, urging them to understand the direct consequences of weapons transfers on Sudan's civilian population.
This international position is in line with a United States-led move within the Security Council to expand the weapons embargo currently in force in Darfur to cover all of Sudan, and to include unmanned aircraft, their components, and related technology among materials prohibited from being transferred to the warring parties. Washington stated that the flow of weapons and unmanned aircraft from abroad is contributing to the prolongation of the conflict and expanding both sides' ability to carry out remote attacks.
US Presidential Adviser for Arab and African Affairs Mussad Boulos has revealed that at least 12 countries are providing military support to both sides in the war. The American proposal does not concern the enforcement of a no-fly zone or the prevention of unmanned aircraft flights, but rather the expansion of the embargo on weapon supplies, unmanned aircraft, their components, and military assistance to cover the entire territory of Sudan.
