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