BRUSSELS – Belgium has sent a Hercules C-130 plane to war-ravaged Sudan to assist with humanitarian aid efforts.

The plane took off for Khartoum from the Melsbroek military airport on Sunday with sixteen military personnel on board.

It will join the United Nations aerial relief programme for the next month, delivering supplies of medicine, food and vehicles to the troubled Darfur
region five times a week.

The plane will also transport aid workers to Darfur, which has been the worst affected region in a civil war that has been raging since the start of
2003.

The Belgian mission will cost around EUR 710,000 and can be extended. It was originally scheduled for July but was delayed while waiting for the Sudanese government’s approval.

Darfur, a vast semi-desert region next to the Chad border, has been the scene of numerous atrocities at the hands of government-backed militia. According to UN estimates, the conflict has led to between 30,000 and 50,000 dead and one million refugees.

[Copyright Expatica 2004]

Subject: Belgian news