US to Provide $138Mln in New Humanitarian Aid to South Sudan - Kerry

US Secretary of State John Kerry stated that Washington will allocate some $138 million in additional humanitarian aid to South Sudan.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The United States will allocate some $138 million in additional humanitarian aid to South Sudan, US Secretary of State John Kerry announced on Monday.

"Today, I am also announcing nearly $138 million in new aid from the United States to the people of South Sudan," Kerry said. "The new funds, the $138 million, will be used to provide food, water, and medicine to those in need."

Kerry called on all parties to the conflict in South Sudan to allow an unfettered access of the humanitarian aid deliveries.

More than 2.5 million people have fled their homes, both internally and to neighboring countries, according to the State Department.

The State Department also notes that the food security conditions are the worst level since 2011 with more than 40 percent of the population experiencing life-threatening hunger.

An armed ethnic conflict erupted in South Sudan in December 2013, one year and a half after the nation gained independence from Sudan, when President Salva Kiir accused First Vice President Riek Machar of preparing a military coup.

In August 2015, Kiir and Machar signed a peace deal that envisaged the formation of the Transitional Government of National Unity. Renewed fighting broke out in July killing hundreds of people.