By IANS,
Wellington : The New Zealand government has announced one million NZ dollars ($785,000) as support for the international humanitarian effort to help civilians affected by fighting in Libya.
“The situation for civilians in Libya is rapidly deteriorating as intense fighting continues,” Xinhua quoted New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully saying in a statement.
“Five weeks of conflict has forced more than 350,000 people to flee their homes, left an unconfirmed number of civilians dead, and made the affected areas in Libya very difficult for aid agencies to reach safely,” he said.
New Zealand will provide the amount of fund to the International Federation of the Red Cross which is working with the Red Crescent National Societies of Libya, Tunisia and Egypt.
The monetary help is meant to help them respond to urgent humanitarian needs including medical care, water and sanitation, relief items and the re-establishment of family links.