India to send 20,000 tons of wheat to Sudan

NEW DELHI, Aug 12, 2004 (dpa) — India is to send 20,000 tons of wheat to Sudan as part of a humanitarian aid package aimed at alleviating suffering in the troubled Darfur region, it was announced Thursday.

“India has been following the developments in Darfur and is encouraged by the steps that the government of Sudan is taking to normalise the situation,” a spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs said. “The humanitarian situation in the region has naturally been a matter of concern.”

The United Nations in March appealed for 349 million dollars in aid to help people affected by the violent conflict in western Sudan, regarded by many aid agencies and international bodies as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

An estimated 1.2 million people have been forced to flee their homes as a result of the 18-month conflict, and up to 50,000 are believed to have died from violence, starvation or disease.