United Nations World Food Program officials being investigated in Sudan

The United Nations World Food Program’s (WFP) top two officials in Sudan are under investigation over allegations of fraud and deception. The agency announced it is launching a probe on Wednesday, Aug. 28, to determine whether the officials lied to donors about the WFP’s ability to deliver aid to hunger-stricken civilians and more.

The U.N.’s food-arm is struggling to feed millions of people in a country, in which as many as 150,000 people have died since the beginning of the civil war and 10 million people have been displaced.

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The WFP officials stand accused of hiding the role of Sudan’s army in blocking aid amid a 16-month war against rival Rapid Support Forces (RFS). The WFP’s deputy country director, Khalid Osman, is among those being investigated. He has reportedly been given a temporary assignment outside of Sudan as a “de facto suspension.”

Sources familiar with the probe said that the second official implicated in these allegations is WFP Area Manager Mohammed Ali. Ali is linked to the disappearance of more than 200,000 liters of fuel from the U.N. organization. It’s unclear if he has been reassigned as a result of the investigation.

The U.S. government’s aid agency, USAID, said the WFP alerted it to “potential incidents of fraud affecting operations in Sudan” on Aug. 20. The U.S. organization is the largest single donor to the agency, supplying nearly half of all contributions on an average year. USAID called the allegations “deeply concerning” and wants a thorough investigation.

Humanitarians and diplomats are worried mismanagement at the center of WFP’s Sudan Office may have contributed to the failure to deliver food to those in need. The investigation comes weeks after international groups warned of famine growing in Sudan’s Darfur region. More than 25 million people in Sudan are reportedly facing crisis levels of hunger or are on the brink of starvation.