Sudan extends airspace closure until Aug. 15 due to conflict

July 31, 2023

The Sudanese civil aviation authority extended the closure of Sudan’s airspace until Aug. 15, except for humanitarian aid and evacuation flights, Khartoum International Airport said in a statement early on Monday.

Sudanese airspace was closed to regular traffic after a military conflict erupted between the country’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in mid-April.

The removal of long-time authoritarian leader Omar al-Bashir in 2019 had initially sparked great optimism for a return to civilian rule in Sudan.

But, a military coup two years later dissolved the transitional civilian government, triggering political and economic turmoil and reigniting intercommunal conflicts.

An armed conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, rival factions of the military government of Sudan, began on 15 April 2023, with the fighting concentrated around the capital city of Khartoum and the Darfur region.

REUTERS