The new humanitarian corridor will be used by the WFP, UN agencies and other development organizations to provide critical assistance to thousands of people trapped by the ongoing conflict in Sudan, a statement by the WFP read on Monday.

“While WFP continues to provide support to those arriving in Egypt through food and cash assistance, we are also committed to assisting people inside Sudan,” WFP Representative and Country Director in Egypt Praveen Agrawal said.

He added that the establishment of the corridor was the fruit of the “great” partnership between the WFP and the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“We are now able to take our aid where it is most needed,” Agrawal stressed.

The first shipment, consisting of 50 tons of food aid, was transferred to Wadi Halfa on 16 June, the statement said.

The northern Sudanese city is located about 20 kilometres south of the border with Egypt.

Since the conflict broke out in mid-April, WFP has sent more than 80 metric tons of emergency food aid to the Egyptian borders in cooperation with the Egyptian government and the Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC), the WFP noted.

The deteriorating situation in Sudan due to the conflict has caused more than 500,000 people to flee the country, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said on Tuesday, marking World Refugee Day.

Over 250,000 Sudanese have fled to Egypt, according to figures presented by Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry on Monday.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that around 800,000 people may flee Sudan to neighbouring states against the backdrop of the conflict.

As the largest host of Sudanese refugees fleeing the conflict, Egypt has already provided hundreds of tons of medical and relief assistance to Sudan.

Donors at a UN conference on Monday pledged nearly $1.5 billion to combat the humanitarian crisis in Sudan and support its neighbouring states host refugees fleeing the conflict.