Two drivers working for the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (ICRC) were killed and three other workers were injured in an attack by gunmen on Thursday in South Darfur state, western Sudan, according to a press release the humanitarian aid organization announced in Geneva.

The group was “returning from Leyba”, where it had gone “to assess the humanitarian situation of communities affected by violence” in the region when it became the target of gunmen, the text states.

“We mourn our beloved colleagues. We express our sincere condolences to their families and hope for the speedy recovery of our injured colleagues,” said Pierre Dorb, head of the ICRC delegation in Sudan.

The initiative for the organization is to support the people most affected by this tragedy, especially the families, relatives and colleagues of the victims, the text added.

Since last year, Sudan has become the theater of merciless war between two generals, who had gone ahead together in a coup in 2021 but have now turned their weapons against each other.

The ICRC “calls for the immediate protection of all civilians, including humanitarian aid workers and medical personnel”, who “should never be the targets of direct attacks”.

Since the outbreak of war on April 15, 2023, between the armed forces under General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the dreaded Rapid Support Force (RSF) under General Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, sexual violence, ethnically and racially motivated violence and scorched earth tactics are back in Darfur. The armed conflict has killed thousands of people, including aid workers, and turned more than 8.5 million others into refugees and internally displaced people, according to the UN.

Added to the violence are fears that the country’s population of 48 million people will face starvation.

According to the World Food Program (WFP), part of the UN system, in Darfur, home to a quarter of the Sudanese population, the amount of food available has decreased “by 78%” compared to last year.

The ICRC has been present in Sudan since 1978 and, since the outbreak of war in April 2023, has notably distributed medical supplies to hospitals located in or near war zones, helps separated families maintain contact with their loved ones and tries to promote compliance with international humanitarian law.

The ICRC is also working with local authorities to improve the population’s access to drinking water, the announcement clarifies.