WFP drops food to war refugees in South Sudan

[August 16, 2012]  JUBA, South Sudan (AP) -- An official says the World Food program has pushed 32 metric tons of food out of the back of a plane for refugees on the South Sudan-Sudan border, an expensive, last-ditch way to get food to hungry refugees forced out of Sudan by fighting.

WFP spokeswoman Challiss McDonough said Thursday that the more expensive air drops are necessary because of an unexpected increase in the number of refugees and because WFP has limited ground access because of a long rainy season.

The first airdrops were made Wednesday in Maban County in Upper Nile state. More than 100,000 refugees have flocked to camps in Upper Nile.

[Associated Press; By MICHAEL ONYIEGO]

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