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Washington, D.C. – U.S. Congressmen Duncan Hunter (R-CA), ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, and Steve Israel (D-NY) today sent a letter to President Bush regarding the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Sudan. Congressmen Hunter and Israel requested the President take action to ensure the continued existence of a viable humanitarian corridor in the region by working to upgrade and expand the Abeche airfield near the border of Chad and Sudan.
“As the humanitarian situation in Darfur deteriorates, we must consider every option and resource available to ensure the relief efforts of the United States and our international partners continue as necessary,” said Congressman Hunter. “The existing Abeche airfield in Chad is a critical lifeline of the region that, once improved, can stage a significant and immediate increase in humanitarian activities, including potential NATO and UN operations.”
“We need to send a clear and unequivocal message to the government of Sudan that we will proactively explore every option and bear the burdens necessary to help stop the genocide in Darfur,” explained Congressman Israel. “400,000 innocent people have been murdered in Darfur, there are two million refugees, and through it all, the government of Sudan tests the will and the patience of the United States, the United Nations and the entire world. Expanding the Abeche airfield says that we have the will to explore every option and that we are running out of patience. One hundred miles from Darfur in Chad is the Abeche air base; if diplomacy fails, if Sudan continues to defy the world and perpetuate this genocide, that air base could be used for potential NATO operations, UN peacekeeping forces and humanitarian missions. It says to Sudan that we will not turn our backs, we will not close our eyes—we will be prepared.”
The Abeche airfield, located near the Darfur region of Sudan, is presently used for military transportation and humanitarian operations. However, these efforts are limited due the airfield’s inadequate and insufficient airstrip and hangers, as well as its inability to accommodate increased air traffic.
During consideration of H.R. 1585, the FY2008 Defense Authorization Act, an amendment was successfully offered by Congressman Israel requiring the Secretary of Defense to submit a report to Congress on the current operational status of the Abeche airfield. The amendment also offers recommendations for upgrading the airfield to sustain enhanced operations and increased air traffic.
More than two million people have died in Southern Sudan over the past two decades due to war-related causes and famine and millions have been displaced from their homes. In Chad some 375,000 people have sought shelter from armed conflict, of which almost a quarter of a million are refugees from neighboring Darfur.
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