A third shipment of aid supplies for Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad has been delivered by trucks travelling across the Sahara desert from ports on Libya's Mediterranean coast.
The UN refugee agency UNHCR said the eight-truck convoy bringing tents, blankets, sleeping mats, cooking oil and sugar, arrived in the Chadian town of Abeche last week after a two-week journey from the Libyan capital Tripoli.
The relief shipment was sent by the Gaddafi International Foundation for Charity Association (GIFCA), a charity linked to Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi, according to an IRIN report.
Robert Gillenwater, the WFP (UN World Food Programme) logistics coordinator in Chad, told IRIN from the capital N'djamena that WFP would send several more convoys across the Sahara in the upcoming weeks.
"Three more ships are heading towards Benghazi and the first carrying 342 tonnes of sugar will arrive on 21 October," Gillenwater said. "The second, carrying 1,430 tonnes of corn soya blend will arrive on 29 October and the third...will arrive on 30 October."
This third ship would be carrying 6,000 tonnes of assorted foodstuffs for eastern Chad, Gillenwater said. (Albawaba.com)
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