IOM Khartoum is sending an additional 24 aid trucks to help some 12,000 families displaced by recent fighting between the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in and around the disputed oil-rich town of Abyei. The assistance, consisting of 71 tonnes of Non Food Items, including urgently needed medical kits, tents and large storage tents or rub halls, left Khartoum on 25 May for the town of Agok, some 25 kilometres south of Abyei.       Two other IOM convoys, which had departed from Wau and Juba last week, arrived in Agok on 28 May with 196 tons of assistance, which was distributed by United Nations partners to some 5,500 destitute displaced households. IOM is currently deploying staff in Agok and surrounding areas to assist in the distribution of aid and to help in the registration of the displaced.   According to a recent inter-agency assessment carried out by IOM in cooperation with UN agencies and international NGOs, some 50,000 to 60,000 persons have been displaced from Abyei to Agok and neighbouring villages.  An additional 10,000 people are believed to have walked south towards the town of Turalei, whilst other groups are said to be on their way towards Aweil East County in Northern Bahr el Ghazal. "Despite the insecurity and logistical challenges, IOM aims to provide as much assistance as possible before the rainy season sets in," says Nelson Bosch, IOM's Senior Operations Officer based in Khartoum. "Non Food Items prepositioned in Khartoum, Juba, Wau and Kadugli are available but IOM urgently needs USD 2 million to deliver the assistance to the needy."    For more information, please contact: Nelson Bosch IOM Khartoum Tel: + 249 912 14 1757 E-mail: "mailto:nbosch@iom.int">nbosch@iom.int