Adré / El Fasher — The World Food Programme (WFP) has appealed to Sudan to keep the Adré border crossing open, as a convoy carrying crucial humanitarian aid heads toward the Zamzam camp for displaced people in North Darfur, where famine was confirmed earlier this year.

On Monday, the WFP said that a convoy of trucks, carrying vital medical and food supplies, had crossed from Chad into Sudan. The convoy aims to deliver aid for approximately 12,500 people in Zamzam camp, located in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur.

UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric underscored the importance of the Adré corridor, calling it a "vital lifeline" for providing urgent assistance to families across the Darfur region.

"It is crucial that the crossing remains usable and open for humanitarians to ramp up aid and get a steady supply of aid to to communities facing extreme hunger," he told reporters at the UN daily press briefing in New York.

The Adré border crossing is set to close this Friday if no new agreement is reached to keep it open.

Last month, Sudan's Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim called for the crossing to be closed "today before tomorrow", on the premise that the route is used to supply the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

In August, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) declared a famine in Zamzam camp and warned of likely famine conditions in the nearby Abu Shouk and El Salam (also known as Abuja) camps.