The United Nations has opened a regular sea route to transport humanitarian aid to Libya's besieged city of Misrata, where rebels still clash with government forces, the UN said.
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said it had allocated a ship to deliver food from the rebel stronghold of Benghazi to Misrata.
"The vessel will make one or two trips each week between the two cities this month," the UN News Centre said.
WFP also said it had distributed more than 6,000 tons of food aid to at least 543,000 people across Libya over the past four months, including 125,000 in Misrata.
"An inter-agency report on the humanitarian situation in Misrata recently said while there is no immediate food crisis there, the city continues to rely on external support for all of its food needs," the UN News Centre said.
Libya has been rocked by fighting between pro- and anti-Gaddafi forces since mid-February. An international military operation in Libya began on March 19, following a UN resolution authorizing countries "to take all necessary measures" to help protect Libyan civilians from attacks by Gaddafi forces, and was extended until late September.
