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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 16 May 2006

DRC: ECHO resumes humanitarian flights

KINSHASA, 16 May 2006 (IRIN) - The European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) has resumed its humanitarian flights in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

"These flights allow humanitarians to accomplish their work by linking Kinshasa to the much war-affected area which is east of the country," Carlo De Filippi, the ECHO chief of delegation in the DRC, said during a ceremony to relaunch the flights.

The first ECHO flight left Kinshasa on Monday for the eastern towns of Goma and Beni, both in North Kivu Province.

ECHO had suspended the flights in the DRC in 2005 after it terminated its contract with an aviation company that was operating ECHO flights.

During the relaunch on 9 May, which also coincided with the marking of the Europe Day, De Filippi said the main base of the ECHO flights would now be Kinshasa, but it would also operate from Nairobi, Kenya.

Humanitarian access in the DRC, a country almost the size of Western Europe, is often difficult because of the poor state of roads and other poor means of communication.

"The resumption of humanitarian flights shows, once again, that the European Union is investing long term in DRC," De Filippi said.

He recalled that the EU was providing 80 percent of the total budget for the ongoing electoral process in the DRC, in addition to a recent decision to assign 1,300 troops to provide security during general elections scheduled for 30 July.

"It is in fact an additional contribution to the development of the country, which will make possible the execution of development projects through regular regional flights," De Filippi said.

[ENDS]

This material comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2006