DATE=4/12/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=ANGOLA AID (L-ONLY) (CQ)
NUMBER=2-261229
BYLINE=ALEX BELIDA
DATELINE=GENEVA
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The United Nations World Food Program says
more than 200-thousand Angolans are at risk of
starvation in the provincial city of Cuito because of
the poor condition of the airport runway there. V-O-A
Correspondent Alex Belida reports from our Southern
Africa Bureau.
TEXT: Because of the ongoing civil war in Angola, the
World Food Program says the only safe and reliable
means for delivering aid to Cuito is by air.
But the U-N agency says it has already been forced to
cut back on the number of relief flights it is sending
to the city, about 600 kilometers southeast of the
capital Luanda, because of what it describes as the
"dreadful" state of Cuito's landing strip.
W-F-P Representative Ronald Sibanda predicts in a
statement there will be what he calls a "terrible
disaster" if food is not delivered in normal
quantities to more than 200-thousand aid recipients in
Cuito in the next two weeks.
The runway at Cuito airport is littered with potholes
-- some the result of battle damage, but others
stemming from poor maintenance and heavy use.
U-N sources tell V-O-A that repairs are made simply by
filling the holes with dirt, which is quickly washed
away by rain or worn away by the repeated passage of
airplanes. These sources describe take-offs as
particularly frightening, with pilots zig-zagging
their aircraft between potholes while accelerating.
U-N officials say they are also worried about
conditions at the airport in Huambo, another
provincial city crowded with Angolans displaced by the
latest fighting. A privately-operated cargo plane
recently crashed on take-off at Huambo after hitting a
pothole. Three people were killed and 20 injured in
the accident. (Signed)
NEB/BEL/JWH/WTW
12-Apr-2000 13:10 PM EDT (12-Apr-2000 1710 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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