Sudanese Government pledges to review flight ban, UN relief official says

The Government of the Sudan has assured the United Nations of its "strong support" for Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) - the world body's umbrella group providing aid to the country - and also pledged to review a flight ban covering two southern provinces, a senior UN relief official said today.

Briefing the press in Nairobi on his just-concluded trip to the Sudan, Kenzo Oshima, the UN's Emergency Relief Coordinator, said that in his meetings with various government officials, he reiterated the UN's concern about restrictions imposed on humanitarian access, particularly in the Eastern and Western Equitoria provinces, where millions of people in need have been effectively cut off by the government's flight ban.

Mr. Oshima said senior officials expressed Khartoum's support for OLS's operating principles and that the Government would make a decision on or before Sunday regarding the flight ban over the southern part of the country.

The UN's Relief Coordinator said he also discussed issues surrounding peace talks between the Government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), relaying the "grave concern" of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan over the humanitarian situation in the Sudan, as well as Mr. Annan's messages urging the two parties to stop fighting and return to the negotiating table in Machakos, Kenya.

Mr. Oshima will be travelling from Nairobi to Ethiopia and Eritrea for the next leg of his trip, which is devoted to addressing humanitarian emergencies in the region.