Airspace closure in Sudan extended until August 15th

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
31 Jul 2023 11:54

The airspace closure will exclude "humanitarian aid and evacuation flights," which will obtain a special permit from the relevant authorities.

Sudanese evacuees wait under the gate of Port Sudan airport, Thursday, May 11, 2023 (AP)

In a statement issued on Sunday, Khartoum International Airport announced that the Sudanese Civil Aviation Authority had decided to extend the closure of airspace to all air traffic until August 15.

The Sudanese civil aviation authorities excluded "humanitarian aid and evacuation flights," which will obtain a special permit from the relevant authorities.

This decision comes against the backdrop of battles that broke out between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces on April 15, prompting the relevant authorities to take strict security measures and close the airspace in order to preserve the safety of citizens and prevent the escalation of tensions.

Based on the nature of the current circumstances, humanitarian aid and evacuation flights will continue and will be granted the necessary permits to fly during the period extending to August 15.

It is expected that the airspace will be reopened after this date, based on security developments and recommendations of the competent authorities.

Yesterday it was reported that Sudan's paramilitaries had forced citizens to leave their houses in the capital's south.

Some locals said on Sunday that hundreds of residents were being evicted from the Jabra neighborhood in southern Khartoum.

Since the start of the fighting on April 15, the RSF has been charged with widespread looting and forcible eviction of residents from their houses.

Some of the worst acts of violence, along with those in Khartoum, have occurred in the war-torn area of Darfur, where accusations of war crimes have spurred a new investigation by the International Criminal Court.

Witnesses reported that bombs were dropped on residential areas during clashes in Nyala, Sudan's second-biggest city.

Since the conflict broke out back in April, more than 2.6 million people have been displaced within Sudan and more than 800,000 have crossed the border into neighboring countries.

At least 3,900 people have died and almost 3.5 million people have been displaced as a result of the conflict between army leader Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and his former deputy, RSF commander Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo.