KHARTOUM, April 24: A UN World Food Programme driver was killed in Darfur, the second fatal attack in two months on vital aid deliveries feeding millions in Sudan’s violent west, a statement said on Thursday.

Banditry on Darfur’s roads has spiked with WFP reporting 26 drivers still missing from 60 truck hijackings this year. The attacks have cut humanitarian deliveries by half and forced a sharp cut in rations for aid-dependent Darfuris from May.

“Mohammed Makki was on his first-ever delivery trip to Darfur, working for a WFP contract trucking delivering food assistance,” the WFP statement said. “He was the father of six children.”

Makki was repairing his truck, which had broken down near South Darfur’s capital Nyala, when he was attacked three days ago, WFP added.—Reuters