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4 February 2008
MAF evacuates from Chad
Mission Aviation Fellowship families are preparing to return to
their home countries after evacuating from Chad to Cameroon on
Friday.
Caravan pilot Mark Liprini and aircraft maintenance engineer Garth
Moffatt will remain behind in Garoua, Cameroon, with the aircraft to
evaluate the need for further evacuation flights out of Chad.
Please continue to pray for this situation – and for the people of
Chad.
On Saturday, rebel leaders advanced on Chad’s capital, N’Djaména,
causing thousands to flee. After two days of heavy fighting, the
government claimed its soldiers had driven the rebels out. However,
rebel spokesman Abderamane Koullamalah claimed rebel leaders had
decided to make a tactical withdrawal to give civilians a chance to
flee before reinforcements from the east arrived to launch another
attack.
Aid agencies have reported many dead bodies on the streets and
hundreds of people being treated in hospitals.
“Obtaining reliable information is extremely hard,” says MAF pilot
Mark Liprini. “Sources are often contradictory, and when things
really heat up, the cell phone network is switched off and often the
landlines are cut as well.”
The night before the evacuation, the MAF team slept at the hangar
because the most reliable reports indicated the rebels were close to
N’ Djaména and planning an attack. However, by early Friday, the
situation appeared to calm, so the families returned to their homes
on the MAF compound.
Mark continues: “Suddenly the fighting flared up again -- and
violently. One of the Chadian staff rushed to the compound and
urgently informed Mike (MAF’s Country Director Mike Riley) that we
had to evacuate immediately. The families grabbed a few items and
the bags that were already pre-packed, piled into their cars, and
made their way through the streets of N’Djaména back to the hangar.
The four-mile drive bypassing the presidential palace seemed to take
forever. Heavily-armed soldiers were everywhere, blockades were
going up, and things were unbelievably scary.”
Within the hour, the MAF team was airborne for Cameroon. By Saturday
morning, it became clear that it would be too dangerous to return.
N’Djaména airport was closed to civilian flights and there was
intense fighting around the airport and in many parts of the city.
MAF staff left behind in Chad all they possess except the clothes
they were wearing and a few small items in their bags.
“The Lord’s presence and comfort has kept the team in good spirits
and a sense of calm has been present,” Mark adds. “There is already
talk by some of the team members that they want to return to Chad to
complete the work God has called them to.”
Media
Enquiries:
Claudia Van Riesen
Mission
Aviation Fellowship
519.821.3914
Click
HERE to donate to our Wings of Love
Chad Evacuation
Relief Fund
using our 128-bit encrypted donation form right now.
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