Iraq sends third batch of aid to flood-hit Sudan

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq sent 12 tons of food aid to flood-hit Sudan, state media reported on Wednesday. This is the third delivery of aid Iraq has given Sudan where hundreds of people have died and thousands of people have lost their homes in devastating flooding. 

Another 12 tons of medical and food aid was sent on Saturday and more was delivered to the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Monday, according to an Iraqi foreign ministry statement.

“At least 114 Sudanese died as a result of extreme heavy rainfall and ensuing floods in many parts of the country,” the United Nations humanitarian office stated on Tuesday.

The floods have affected more than 557,000 in 17 of Sudan’s eight states, according to the UN. 

The governor of Sudan’s southeastern Blue Nile state “sent an urgent appeal to the federal government in Khartoum, demanding the acceleration of the transport of more than 120 tons of relief items from the Humanitarian Aid Commission to the state via an air bridge,” the UN stated. 

At least 32,964 houses have been destroyed and 50,552 houses partially collapsed. And “43,425 agricultural acres have been flooded. 5,482 head of livestock died,” the report added.

Other Middle Eastern states, Egypt, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain, have also sent aid to Sudan.