European Union Allocates $4.6Mln To Support Sahrawi Refugees In Algeria - UN Food Agency

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th June, 2019) The European Union contributed $4.6 million to the World Food Program (WFP) to support the agency's food assistance to Sahrawi refugees in Algeria, the WFP said in a press release on Thursday.

"The European Commission has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting thousands of refugees living in five Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria with a US$4.6 million... contribution to the United Nations World Food Program," the release said.

The contribution, made by the European Commission Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations department, will cover the needs of some 77 percent of the population of the camp, which is the most food insecure, the release said.

The WFP explained that each refugee would be provided with food supplies, including rice, flour, sugar and fortified blended foods that are expected to last for one month.

The recent contribution by the EU represents an addition to $6.

8 million allocated in support of Sahrawi refugees in 2018.

The Sahrawi refugees have been living under harsh conditions in the Sahara Desert in southwestern Algeria for more than 40 years and have relied mostly on the UN assistance to meet their food needs.

In 1976, the Polisario Front proclaimed the creation of the partially-recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), claiming Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony. The SADR government controls only a small part of the territory, while Morocco governs the rest of the disputed region.

Morocco has proposed a solution involving granting autonomy to the region, while the United Nations has voiced support for a referendum on self-determination.

SADR has gained wide recognition among African states and by several Latin American and Asian countries, while the Arab League backs Morocco's territorial integrity.