U.N. food body sees supplies to Uganda running out
NAIROBI, Sept 26 (Reuters) - The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that supplies to feed Uganda's swelling number of displaced people will run out next month without donor assistance.
More than 1.1 million people have fled their homes in the north and east of the country following attacks by the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), which has stepped up a 17-year-old insurgency against the government.
"Our ability to deal with the swelling numbers of displaced is already stretched. With increased numbers needing help, we have only enough food to last through October when we will run out of maize and beans," said WFP's Country Director for Uganda Ken Davies in a statement issued on Thursday.
"We are urging donors to come forward with cash contributions to purchase food locally to speed up the process. We absolutely must avoid drastic ration cuts."
More than 14,000 Ugandan troops backed by tanks, artillery and helicopter gunships were deployed in the north last year to fight rebels, but have failed to defeat them.
