The United States says it is giving an additional $83 million in emergency aid for refugees fleeing fighting in South Sudan.
In a statement Monday, the U.S. State Department said the conflict in South Sudan threatens to create a famine and says more than two million people are already facing crisis levels of food insecurity.
It says since the latest fighting began in December, there are more than 450,000 new refugees. It noted that amount is more than the number of refugees in 2005 when a peace agreement was signed ending Sudan's long civil war between the north and the south.
The State Department said the new funds will go towards food, health care, seeds and tools and brings the total aid for South Sudan this year to more than $720 million.
The latest violence in South Sudan began with a political dispute between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy, Riek Machar. Ethnic fighting between pro- and anti-government troops has killed an estimated 10,000 people and driven more than a million South Sudanese from their homes since December.
