WFP aid arrives in Banda Aceh

WFP aid arrives in Banda Aceh

BANDA ACEH, Aceh: Some 10,000 tons of rice from the United
Nations World Food Program (WFP) arrived here and will soon be
distributed to victims of the 26-year separatist struggle in
Aceh.

"Yesterday (Wednesday), I met with WFP director Muhammad
Solihin and he told me that his visit to Aceh is aimed at
distributing the assistance to local people," Aceh Governor
Abdullah Puteh said on Thursday.

He said the WFP has obtained approval from local
administrations to get firsthand information on the condition of
the people before distributing the food aid.

Puteh said the distribution of the rice in the province, home
to 4.2 million people, was in line with the Dec. 9 peace deal
signed to end the hostilities.

The WFP assistance, he added, would be focused on impoverished
families, as well as widows and their children affected by the
decades of bloodshed in Aceh. --Antara