JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — The World Food Program estimates that as many as a half million people could be forced to flee Sudan if the government in Khartoum does not allow humanitarian aid into the country.
A top U.S. official said Monday that a humanitarian crisis is looming in a volatile border region with South Sudan.
World Food Program Deputy Executive Director Ramiro Lopes da Silva said WFP is in talks with the Khartoum government to allow its aid workers into Blue Nile and South Kordofan states. An estimated 80,000 people have fled armed rebellion and hunger in the two states and are now in South Sudan.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns said Monday that aid groups must be allowed in to Blue Nile and South Kordofan to avert a humanitarian crisis.
