EU offers humanitarian aid for Sudan, S Sudan and Yemen

The European Union on Thursday said it would provide tens of millions of euros more in humanitarian aid to Sudan, South Sudan and Yemen. Fighting in the Sudanese states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile have produced an exodus of over 200,000 refugees into South Sudan, the European Commission said, adding that "tens of thousands more" could follow in the coming months. In response, EU humanitarian assistance for the two African nations is being boosted by 40 million euros (49 million dollars) to 127 million euros, the commission said. In Yemen, 40 per cent of the population do not have enough to eat; 1.25 million people are affected by conflicts in the north and south; and there are more than 250,000 refugees, mainly from Somalia and Ethiopia. "Yemen is becoming one of the direst humanitarian crises in the world today, with record malnutrition rates," EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva said in a statement. She announced a doubling of EU aid for 2012 to 40 million euros.