Looters in South Sudan have stolen more than 3,700 tons of food, enough to feed nearly 225,000 people for a month, the World Food Program (WFP) said Friday. The U.N. agency's warehouses in Malakal had been nearly emptied, WFP spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs told a news conference in Geneva. The agency was working to recover lost supplies wherever possible and trying to protect remaining stocks, she said. The loss will complicate efforts to feed the 73,000 civilians who have taken refuge in U.N. bases as well as more than 200,000 refugees who have been relying on U.N. support in Upper Nile and Unity states since before the latest crisis began in mid-December. A total of 494,000 people have been displaced across South Sudan, the United Nations says. "In this kind of situation, it's very difficult to protect food stocks," Byrs said. The WFP is seeking $57.8 million for emergency food aid for South Sudan, and it expects to need to request more in the future. The agency has reported no looting of its food stocks so far in another African crisis, in Central African Republic (CAR).
