Brussels, 04/02/2003 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday, the European Commission decided to grant a further 5 million euro to emergency food aid operations in Ethiopia. This aid, which comes on top of the 97 million euro already granted in 2002, will benefit the vulnerable populations in the Northeast of the country (Afar and Somali region) and the lowland regions of Oromia (Hararghe), the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's Regional State (SNNPR) and Tigray. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will distribute the aid. In concrete terms, this further aid will enable the ICRC to buy and distribute 15,750 tonnes of basic foodstuffs for over 250,000 vulnerable people in regions affected by drought.