Covenant News

Sudan's Islamic Government Closes South To Aid

KHARTOUM, SUDAN (October 9, 2002) - A recent nine-day flight ban enacted by The National Islamic Front Government of Sudan (GOS) on September 26 has caused delays in humanitarian aid for southern Sudan, threatening the relief work of Covenant World Relief (CWR) and other agencies.

The United Nations (UN) declared that a ban against flights into southern Sudan could cause a humanitarian disaster that could affect three million people, according to recent reports by Evangelical Press and others.

Fierce fighting between the Islamic Sudanese army from the north and the Sudan People's Liberation Army, (SPLA), seem to be the primary reason for the recent bans, although war has been in effect since 1983. The borders between the north of the country, controlled by the government, and the south, controlled by the SPLA, are still disputed between both sides. The northern part of the country, ruled by GOS, is Islamic and the southern portion has a high contingent of Christians.

Covenant World Relief (CWR) uses Africa Inland Mission (AIM) planes in order to send relief supplies to villages in South Sudan where Covenant churches are located, said Jim Sundholm, director for CWR. A flight to send supplies had been scheduled last week to the Upper Nile region, but Sundholm didn't know if the flight had arrived. Supplies include fishnets, foodstuffs, Bibles and other articles needed for development work.

"This recent development (regarding the halting of relief flights) is not new to us, but it's disturbing to know that Sudan is fighting an invisible war," said Sundholm. "In one area, we heard from Covenanters on the ground that in a 15-minute period 1,000 people had died. It's a tremendous hardship and in any given period various corridors have been closed to us. Sometimes you find a supply corridor and it's closed for any number of reasons - fighting between border tribes, for example - but we keep trying to find other corridors.

"This region of Sudan has not endured drought and famine, but because of the instability of food resources food drops are necessary," Sundholm continued. "There are seasons of peace and seasons of war and the food becomes a pawn (in the wars). People are industrious; when they can grow food they do. You work with the earth and the earth is your future. The saddest thing I've heard is when the mother and father tell the rest of the family they're eating the seeds (rather than growing them). That's the last measure of hope - that says that they have no future."

There are an estimated 50,000 Covenanters in Sudan, said Sundholm in an interview earlier this year. Sundholm and Jerry Rice had visited the country in April and stated that the use of drip irrigation systems to grow food and the procurement of supplies through neighboring Eritrea had been successful in helping some of the Covenant churches in the region.

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