Sudan starts to deliver food aid to South Sudan via N. Kordofan

November 22, 2017 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan on Tuesday has resumed relief operations to South Sudan through a new route from El-Obeid, North Kordofan state capital of east and north Bahr El Ghazal.

A local official at the sub-committee tasked with the delivery of humanitarian aid to South Sudan told Ashorooq TV they have so far transported more than 13,000 metric tonnes of food to the neighbouring country.

He added the committee continues its efforts to complete the delivery of the remaining 10,000 metric tonnes, describing the relief supply as a moral obligation of the Sudanese government towards the South and its people.

For his part, the North Kordofan humanitarian aid commissioner Ahmed Babiker al-Hassan said the first relief caravan contains 18 trucks carrying foodstuff to Aweil area and from there to the IDPs camps.

He expected another corridor to be opened from El-Obeid to accelerate the food delivery operations to the affected population in South Sudan.

In July 2014, Juba and Khartoum signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to open a humanitarian corridor to deliver food assistance to vulnerable South Sudanese through the River Nile or by road. Last January, the agreement was extended for a six month period.

On 30 June, the World Food Programme (WFP) began providing food assistance to South Sudan using a new corridor to transport food items overland from El Obeid in central Sudan to Bentiu in South Sudan’s Unity state.

Sudan has so far opened four aid corridors to deliver food assistance to South Sudan.

South Sudan became the world’s newest nation after declaring independence from Sudan in 2011.

However, in 2013 the country was plunged into civil war killing tens of thousands of people and displacing millions.

(ST)