(MENAFN- Qatar News Agency) Washington August 13 (QNA) - US will provide South Sudan with approximately $180 million in humanitarian aid The White House has announced. US National Security Adviser Susan Rice explained that emergency funding was authorized for the first time since 2008 because "the threat of famine is real." "The people of South Sudan are suffering because of the inability of South Sudan's leaders to put their people's interests above their own. President Salva Kiir and Riek Machar must immediately assume their responsibilities to the South Sudanese to prevent further needless suffering." On Tuesday US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power arrived in South Sudan as the head of a UN Security Council delegation. The purpose of the visit she wrote on Twitter is "to engage with President Salva Kiir civil society and opposition to end the devastating violence." Violence broke out in South Sudan late 2013 when President Salva Kiir accused his fired deputy Riek Machar of attempting a coup. Fighting between forces loyal to the two men has continued since December with the political dispute devolving into an ethnic conflict. Thousands have died and an estimated 1.5 million have been displaced. (QNA)
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