The Libyan government has given its first-ever donation to the World Food Program to assist with relief efforts in the Darfur region.
The U.N. agency says it will use the $4.5 million contribution to cover the increased costs of jet fuel for food airlifts into the troubled area.
In a statement, the agency says it has been airlifting food from southern Libya into Darfur for nearly a year.
It says Libya has provided a ground transportation corridor for relief convoys from the port of Benghazi, Libya, into eastern Chad since 2004.
The World Food Program says it aims to help two-point-seven million people in the Darfur region of western Sudan, and more than 200,000 Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad.
