United Nations Extends Sudan's Blue Nile Relief Work

<p>NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) -- After nineteen months of relief work, the United Nations on Thursday extended its aid to Sudan's Blue Nile state.

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<p>The Sudanese armed forces and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) have been fighting throughout the state since neighbouring South Sudan seceded under the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended a decades-long civil war.

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<p>The fighting in Blue Nile displaced and then isolated tens of thousands of people, and the UN has been able to reach 51,000 people with food aid in the state since it managed to start its first deliveries in the conflict-wracked region.

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<p>The UN World Food Program (WFP) on Thursday said that its first round of distributions consisted of two-month food rations for about 12,000 people in Geissan and 39,000 in Kurmuk. However, it also said it requires more funds to feed all those in need there.

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<p>It plans to reach people in six localities before the rainy season begins in May but it still needs some $20 million to secure 17,000 metric tons of food for the response.

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