France to provide food supplies to Africa

PARIS - France would send an A340 carrying humanitarian supplies to Djibouti on Wednesday to ease the food crisis in the Horn of Africa, the French Press Agency (AFP) quoted military sources as saying on Tuesday night.

The aircraft carrying some 20 tons of food supplies would land in Djibouti Wednesday evening. A total of 18,000 children suffering from malnutrition in that region would benefit from the move, said the report.

France has promised to offer an aid worth 30 million euros ($42.8 million) to the Horn of Africa devastatingly impacted by the drought and famine.

According to UN data, the most severe food crisis has threatened the livelihoods of some 12.4 million people in western Africa, notably Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya and millions more in neighboring countries.