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ACT News ReleaseSudan: Humanitarian flights in the south haltedGeneva,
September 27, 2002 Lutheran World Federation
(LWF) in Kenya, a member of Action by Churches Together (ACT) International,
has send a warning to the ACT Coordinating Office in Geneva and other
humanitarian organisations, that the Government of Sudan has declared
a flight denial status for the eastern and western Equatoria in Southern
Sudan. Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) has grounded all flights, even security
and emergency flights as of September 27, 2002. As representative
of all agencies not working under the roof of OLS in Sudan LWF Kenya
strongly advises that Non OLS agencies should not fly over south Sudan
until more secure routings have been agreed on through Ethopian airspace
between Ethiopian authorities and OLS. The affected agencies should
keep themselves updated in Loki with OLS staff on the ground. Reports indicate that there is bombing and fighting going on in the
area of Juba and Torit, where the frontline is between the Sudanese
army and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), which
has recently accused Khartoum of intensifying fighting across the
south. The borders between the north of the country, controlled by the government,
and the south, controlled by the SPLM/A, are still disputed between
both sides. The implication of the grounding of the flights are severe for the
Southern Sudanese people living in areas under the control of SPLM/A
where many people have been uprooted because they had to flee fighting.
The areas are cut off from humanitarian assistance after the flights
have been halted.
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