Five million in Sudan need aid: EU

Khartoum (AFP) - More than five million people in Sudan need urgent assistance after new displacements in Darfur and a surge of refugees arriving from South Sudan, a top European Commission official said Wednesday.

The comments by Jean-Louis De Brouwer, operations director at the EC's Humanitarian and Civil Protection Department, came after the commission offered 12.5 million euros ($14 million) to the UN World Food Programme for supporting relief operations in Sudan.

"The humanitarian situation in many parts of Sudan is critical, as recent population displacements in Darfur and a surge of arrivals from South Sudan illustrate," De Brouwer said in a WFP statement.

"More than five million people are in need of urgent assistance."

In late April, the WFP said it was facing a shortfall of $181 million for the next 12 months, which was hampering its work in Sudan, particularly with South Sudanese refugees.

WFP said it plans to use the bulk of the 12.5 million euro to provide sorghum, a food staple in Sudan, to 137,000 displaced people in Darfur for three months, and pulses for more than 180,000 South Sudanese refugees for six months.

The UN agency said it would also use part of the aid to support 88,200 displaced people across Darfur with cash-based transfers in the form of food vouchers for three months.

More than 70,000 South Sudanese have arrived in Sudan since January, fleeing conflict and food shortages in their war-torn country, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said last week.

OCHA said majority of these have arrived in East Darfur, which is hosting close to 47,000 people.

South Sudan won independence from Sudan in 2011 but two years later it fell into a brutal civil war that has killed tens of thousands of civilians.

Fighting erupted in South Sudan with the falling out between President Salva Kiir and Riek Machar, who served as vice president when South Sudan won independence until his dismissal in 2013.

But in April rebel leader Machar returned to Juba and was sworn in as vice president, raising hopes of implementing a peace accord that was signed in August but has yet to take hold.

Meanwhile, an upsurge in fighting this year between the army and rebels in the thickly forested rocky mountain range of Jebel Marra has displaced many who have taken refuge in North Darfur, aid officials say.