DILI, Timor-Leste, July 2 (UPI) -- The U.N. World Food Program will assist Timor-Leste with food and other aid to communities affected by an ongoing drought.
"There is a need for food assistance due to the persistence of the drought and we will work closely with the government to ensure that food is available through the lean season," Tarek Elguindi, WFP representative said Friday in a statement released in Dili, Timor-Leste.
Drought conditions and a locust outbreak caused a 30 percent decline in crop production in the tiny island Asian nation in the past year, leaving one-fifth of the population vulnerable, the statement said.
The WFP said the food shortage numbers 93,696 tons and more than $12 million will be needed for residents of the former Portugese colony.
Timor-Leste also faces a precarious security situation after ethnic tensions and violence erupted there. One-third of Dili residents became refugees last year after fighting began between security forces. The former East Timor, which gained independence from Indonesia in 2002, has been monitored by an Australian-led peacekeeping force.
Voters went to the polls over the weekend in hopes of electing a new parliament that will bring stability.
Marie Okabe, spokeswoman to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, told reporters Monday in New York, "Saturday's parliamentary elections were conducted in a generally peaceful atmosphere and the security situation remains calm with no major incidents reported."
Preliminary election results should be available this week, Okabe said.
