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| Africa: East |
| Sudan’s Foreign Minister Blames US Sanctions for Plane Crash |
| 2003-07-08 |
| Sudan's Foreign Minister says Tuesday's plane crash which killed at least 115 people was the direct result of U.S. sanctions. Mustafa Osman Ismail says the accident was caused by a lack of spare parts, which he says, were unavailable because of U.S. sanctions. The U.S. imposed sanctions on Sudan in 1997. It also remains on the U.S. list of nations that sponsor terrorism. There has been no response from U.S. officials. I wouldn't comment either. Earlier Tuesday, a Sudan Airways Boeing 737 crashed minutes after takeoff, killing everyone on board except a young boy. The child lost his leg in the accident. The pilot reported a technical failure after taking off from the town of Port Sudan in the northeast, bound for the capital, Khartoum. The plane attempted to return to the airstrip, but crashed a few kilometers away. The bodies of the victims were buried in a mass grave in Port Sudan after local government officials called for an immediate burial. Among the dead are a senior Sudanese air force official and a member of parliament. At least seven foreign nationals were on the flight, including passengers from China and Ethiopia. |
| Posted by:Steve |