LOC14:32
11:32 GMT
BRUSSELS, April 25 (KUNA) -- EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Christos Stylianides, who is visiting South Sudan, announced Saturday that the Commission is requesting new support in the amount of 50 million euro from the EU for the victims of this humanitarian crisis.
"I have witnessed first-hand the immense suffering of the people of South Sudan. People who have been forced to leave their homes and desperately look for a safe place to live. People who lack the opportunity to earn a living. They have suffered enough!" said Stylianides in a statement.
"I appeal to the various fighting groups in South Sudan for peace and reconciliation. South Sudanese leaders need to put an end to the unnecessary suffering of their people who deserve much better," he added.
The new aid package, once approved by the EU budgetary authorities, will bring the Commission's humanitarian aid for South Sudan and the neighbouring countries affected by the crisis to 120.5 million euro for 2015.
For over a year South Sudan has been plagued by a major crisis affecting the entire region, including Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda.
More than two million people have fled their homes, including over half a million refugees in the neighbouring countries. (end)
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