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Sudan extends opening of Adre border crossing with Chad for aid delivery

The Adre border crossing, vital for aid delivery, was reopened in August for three months after a February closure, with its future uncertain beyond November 15.

Reuters Archive

More than 300 aid trucks with supplies for more than 1.3 million people have crossed into Sudan through Adre since the re-opening of the crossing. / Photo: Reuters Archive

Sudan's sovereign council has said it would extend the use of the Adre border crossing with Chad, which is seen as essential by aid agencies for the delivery of food and other supplies to areas at risk of famine in the Darfur and Kordofan regions.

The decision came on Wednesday.

Experts determined earlier this year that while more than 25 million people across the country face acute hunger, several parts of the country are at increased risk of famine and that one camp in the Darfur region was already in its throes, the consequence of the war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Adre, which was closed by an order from the army-controlled government in February, was re-opened for three months in August until November 15, and it had not been clear whether that period would be extended.

Members of the government have protested against the opening, saying it allows for the RSF to deliver weapons.

However, the Sudanese army is not in physical control of the border crossing which lies within territory seized last year by the RSF, which controls most of Darfur.

Sudanese council to reopen Adre border crossing for aid deliveries

A more efficient route

Aid agencies decided against ignoring directives from the internationally recognised government, and had been bracing themselves for closure of the corridor, seen as a more efficient route than cross-line deliveries from army-controlled Port Sudan or the more remote al-Tina border crossing.

The re-opening of Adre in August coincided with the rainy season and the destruction of several roads and bridges, meaning that aid trickled in at the start.

More than 300 aid trucks with supplies for more than 1.3 million people have since crossed into Sudan through Adre, according to UN humanitarian coordination official Ramesh Rajasingham in a briefing to the Security Council on Tuesday.

The World Food Programme on Saturday moved a convoy of 15 trucks across Adre with food and nutrition for 12,500 people in famine-stricken Zamzam camp, said spokeswoman Leni Kinzli to reporters on Tuesday.