EU Ambassadors in Sudan welcome new aid corridor to South Sudan

The nine resident European Union (EU) Ambassadors in Sudan have welcomed the announcement by the Sudanese government to open an additional overland humanitarian corridor to famine-stricken South Sudan.

The first UN convoy using the new corridor, from the city of El Obeid in Sudan to Bentiu in South Sudan on 30 March, is delivering life-saving aid in a timely and cost-effective way.

This adds significantly to the humanitarian corridor between Kosti and Renk, which the Governments of Sudan and South Sudan opened in 2014. It is crucial to maintain the two corridors and consider expanding access to South Sudan with additional corridors, especially in view of the upcoming rainy season, the EU Delegation to Sudan says in a press statement today.

The European diplomats also called for sustained and timely access for humanitarian organisations in Sudan seeking to provide assistance to the rising numbers of refugees fleeing from South Sudan.

The EU is providing massive support for the response to the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan, and to South Sudanese refugees in the neighbouring countries. In 2017, the European Commission donated €182 million in support of humanitarian aid for South Sudanese in South Sudan and in countries of the region which are facing large influx of refugees, including Sudan.

Further support is provided through EU Member State bilateral assistance programmes.