DAKAR, 1 March 2011 (IRIN) - Unrest in Libya has cut off a 3,000km supply route the World Food Programme has used since 2004 to bring food to tens of thousands of Sudanese refugees and displaced Chadians in eastern Chad.

"WFP used the Libya corridor for about 40 percent of its food aid to Sudanese refugees and displaced Chadians," Jean-Luc Siblot, WFP representative in Chad, told IRIN.

When unrest erupted in Libya, 11,000 tons of cereals and pulses were ready for discharge at Libya's Benghazi port to be transported to eastern Chad. The two vessels carrying food have since been re-routed to Port Sudan, Siblot said.

WFP Chad is now working with Sudanese authorities and logistics colleagues in Sudan to re-establish a supply route from Port Sudan to Abéché, the main town and humanitarian hub of eastern Chad.

"It has not been used in some time and will take a while to prepare," Siblot told IRIN. Aid convoys will have to cross Darfur.

"This has a significant financial impact. It is costing hundreds of thousands of dollars to re-route the ships and money will also be needed to re-establish the corridor through Sudan."

WFP regards the route as "critical" and food deliveries should reach Abéché before the rains, which generally begin in June. After that, "nothing can move by road in this area," Siblot said.

As of February 2011 some 325,000 Sudanese men, women and children from Darfur lived in camps in eastern Chad, according to the UN Refugee Agency; aid agencies are also assisting 131,000 displaced Chadians and 50,000 returnees in the region.

Source: The Integrated Regional Information Networks (http://www.irinnews.org )