Sudan: UN delivers food aid to thousands displaced by conflict in Abyei

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said today it has provided food aid to more than 45,000 people who were displaced from Sudan’s disputed Sudanese area of Abyei during the recent fighting that culminated in the taking over of the territory by Government troops.

“We have partners on the ground who helped us get food quickly to those who need our assistance,” said Amer Daoudi, the WFP Sudan Regional Director.

The agency said it had delivered food assistance to more than 25,000 displaced people in Warrap state, where the former Abyei residents have sought safety, with each one of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) receiving a month’s ration. Some 2,800 people who went to Western Bahr el-Ghazal state also received food rations.

Food assistance has also reached an estimated 18,000 people in the Abyei area where WFP operations were disrupted by the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) from the north and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) from the south.

WFP said it is working with NGO partners, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), to locate and assist those who have fled into remote villages. The agency is also working with the charity Samaritan’s Purse, which has offered tractors and trucks to help move food around Twic county and into Agok.

WFP plans to send 2,000 tons of cereals, pulses and salt to Wunrok in the Twic county of Warrap state, where WFP has set up a response base. Yesterday a convoy of 23 trucks carrying almost half of that consignment left El Obeid in Northern Kordofan state headed for Wunrok.

“As soon as the security situation allows, WFP will conduct a rapid assessment to determine the extent of the damage the fighting has had on WFP assets, including its office, vehicles and warehouse as well as on the livelihoods of people in the Abyei area,” the agency said in its operational update on Abyei.

An additional 30 WFP staff have been deployed to manage food distributions, provide logistical support, and to coordinate with other humanitarian workers on the ground. An expert will also be sent to look into the nutrition situation of those displaced, especially children, as wells as the overall food security situation in Twic county.