Germany has released 10 million euros ($13 million)  to help the nearly one million South Sudanese who have been forced from their homes by more than three months of fighting, a top German official said as he wrapped up a visit here Thursday.

Germany's Minister for Economic Development and Cooperation, Gerd Mueller, said the funds have been released to the U.N.'s World Food Program (WFP) and would be available immediately to help South Sudan's displaced and refugees.

He called for peace to be restored in South Sudan so that Germany can resume development projects, the German Federal Ministry for Cooperation (BMZ) said in a release.

Only when peace has been restored "will it make sense for us to re-engage" in South Sudan, Mueller is quoted by the BMZ as telling President Salva Kiir when the two met in Juba Thursday, the second and last day of Mueller's visit.

Mueller also held talks with the head of the U.N. Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Hilde Johnson, and vowed not to abandon the South Sudanese people.

"Although we've had to interrupt our long-term development projects in South Sudan because of the fighting, we must not abandon the refugees," the BMZ quoted him as saying.

Fighting in South Sudan has brought German development projects in the country to a halt, Mueller said several times during his visit.

Mueller was accompanied on the visit by officials from the German government and NGOs, as well as journalists.

He was "deeply moved" as he toured UNMISS's Tomping compound in Juba where tens of thousands of South Sudanese have sought shelter since fighting erupted in December, the BMZ said.

 Source : Voice of America