Insecurity forces OLS flight suspension

Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) has been forced to suspend humanitarian flights to Western Upper Nile as a result of the constant shifting of political allegiances and consequent insecurity that threatens the lives of humanitarian workers.

This was especially so in light of confusion over where former vice-president Riek Machar stands since he tendered his
resignation to President Omar al-Bashir last month, an OLS official told IRIN. The flight suspension applies particularly to those areas where OLS deals with the Relief Association of Southern Sudan (RASS), the humanitarian wing of the South Sudan United Movement of militia commander Peter Gadet, whose main operational area is the Bentiu-Mankien-Nyal region of Western Upper Nile.

The WFP/UNICEF barge between Malakal and Juba also remains suspended due to security concerns, and OLS is keenly aware of staff security in the wake of the recent kidnap of four associated personnel. They were released on 10 February at Old Fangak after being held for eight days. A national working for UNICEF, two Kenyans employed as pilots and a Sudanese national
working with RASS were released after lengthy negotiations between the militia group, the Sudanese government and UN officials in Sudan. The combination of humanitarian needs and profound insecurity in the face of rapidly shifting power balances between and within the various rebel factions and pro-government militias means that Western Upper Nile is "an
area of mounting concern", according to humanitarian sources. The current political and security situation remains "incredibly complex and confused", and is not helped by the numerous militias' jostling for power and control of the area's oil resources, they added.