Peacekeepers at a UN base in Nasser in Upper Nile State are running low on supplies after rebels that control areas near the airstrip denied them flight clearances for resupply, according to a spokesman at the UN’s New York headquarters.
Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman for the UN Secretary-General said on Monday, “UN aircrafts have been denied permission to land at the Mission’s county support base in the Upper Nile State town of Nassir by armed opposition forces – this is for the 6th consecutive day.”
The acting spokesman for the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) Joe Contreras clarified to Radio Tamazuj that the Mission routinely seeks flight safety assurances from armed opposition forces operating in the vicinity of the airstrip as well as SPLA troops because the former control much of the south bank of the Sobat River opposite Nassir Town.
“These elements are in a position to adversely affect the landing of our aircraft during final approach, hence the practice of obtaining permission from opposition forces to fly into the area,” Contreras noted. “The airstrip at Nassir is still under the control of government forces.”
Dujarric disclosed, “The amount of supplies for the UNMISS personnel stationed at the Nassir base is reaching critically low levels as a result of the inability to operate flights into Nassir.”
File photo: UNMISS peacekeepers patrolling in Pibor, Jonglei State, South Sudan. (Photo: UNMISS/Martine Perret)