Sudan Crisis | Logistics Access Guidance – SITREP 1
Humanitarian Aid to Sudan APRIL 23
ER@priorityworldwide.com
The civil war between warring factions of the Sudanese Military forces have created a humanitarian conflict & refugee situation both inside Sudan and in neighbouring countries. There have been large scale evacuations both by military air and also by ocean as well as refugee flows into neighbouring nations.
Air Access
Sudanese CAA has posted a NOTAM A0070/23 wef 30-April prohibiting all flights over territory of Sudan except for evacuation or humanitarian flights approved by PPR and Sudanese authorities. In reality KRT remains inaccessible due to fighting. Emirates Airlines have announced a prolonged suspension of Khartoum flights until at least the end of May. Some evacuations have taken place from PZU/Port Sudan International Airport on the Red-Sea coast & this would likely be a civil entry point for charter flights in coming days. PZU Airport has a 2500m asphalt runway & should be able to accommodate mid-sized cargo & passenger aircrafts, pending the ability of airlines to gain war risk insurance coverage or the approval of their home CAA. Multimodal air + surface transport access might be feasible via neighbouring nations Egypt, Ethiopia, Chad and South Sudan, however this remains very complex from Chad (due security there) and South Sudan (due to wet season & security). It is possible to send both commercial and charter air cargo to the above nations, although there is no common practise for trans-shipments in these nations, except for via Egypt.
Ocean Access
The main seaport at Port Sudan remains operational with infrastructure mostly intact, and there are ongoing ocean evacuations to KSA. It is increasingly the focus of evacuations. Major vessel liners such as Maersk and Hapag Lloyd have stopped accepting any bookings to Port Sudan and will honor bookings only as far as Jeddah Port, KSA and others have introduced additional war risk surcharges on bookings. It is unclear how long the port may be able to remain open and operate normally.
Overland Access
Borders with Chad, Egypt and Ethiopia are seeing large refugee movements and there have been reports of weapons being smuggled into Sudan via Chad border. Heightened tensions at borders with neighbouring nations and there has also been reports this past weekend of violence including looting and torching of markets in El Geneinah, the border town in Darfur region of Sudan next to Chad.
Access via Chad
The situation in Chad, where our company has an office, is particularly stressed due to reports of 25,000 + refugees having fled from Darfur. Overland access from Chad into Sudan appears to be possible for authorised aid deliveries, however it would require to be with Sudanese vehicles & the NGO/non-profit would need to obtain exemptions from Chad authorities to truck between Chad and Sudan. There is also a shortage of fuel & diesel in Chad and a lot of transport has stopped. Any application for cargo to pass via Chad to Sudan would need to be made by the local NGO to the Ministry of Co-Operation & Security.
Access via South Sudan
Rainy season in SS will make transport from Southern routes up from Juba difficult and therefore likely that emergency aid may need to be flown into Norther airfields such as Malakal, Wau, Agok or Aweil. Some of the operations are in contested areas so may require a special permission from an entity known as the Relief & Rehabilitation Commission. Reports regarding access from Egypt & Ethiopia will follow.
