New York, NY (BBN)– United Nations relief agencies are responding to the humanitarian situation in Burmese northern Rakhine state, in the wake of violence there which has displaced thousands of people.
“WFP has reached more than 66,000 displaced people with emergency food supplies in the past week, delivering rations of rice, beans and cooking oil,” the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said in a statement on Tuesday. “WFP has about 2,800 metric tons of food in four warehouses in the region, ready to be distributed to the affected population.”
Serious inter-communal disturbances took place in Rakhine state, in the country’s west, earlier this month. The disturbances led to the Government declaring a state of emergency there, with the UN also temporarily relocating, on a voluntary basis, some of its staff based in the towns of Maungdaw and Buthidaung, as well as Rakhine state’s capital, Sittwe.
According to media reports, the violence, between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims, left at least a dozen civilians dead and hundreds of homes destroyed.
The Burma’s, officially known as Myanmar, government has requested urgent humanitarian assistance for the affected people in Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Sittwe, with food, shelter and medical assistance urgently required.
A full UN assessment mission is being organized, and it is expected to provide a clearer picture of the extent of humanitarian needs in the affected area.
“At this stage, WFP estimates there are about 90,000 displaced people in need of assistance as a result of the recent clashes – WFP is currently finalizing plans for a three-month food assistance operation that will require additional support from donors,” the WFP said.
The agency has completed food distributions in Sittwe, Maungdaw and Buthidang, as well as the town of Rathedaung. It said the most significant obstacle it is currently facing is access, with poor roads and bridges proving to be a particular constraint, and some displaced populations only reachable by using small trucks. WFP expects to scale up operations further in the coming days.
BBN/SSR/AD-20June12-11:30 am (BST)
