Piloten zonder Grenzen in de Centraal Afrikaanse Republiek

Beste allemaal.
Dit was wel de snelste doorstart naar Mobaye die ik ooit gehad heb.
In Amsterdam liep alles op rolletjes.
Wat betreft de bagage stond er onder op mijn ticket: PC.
Op de tickets van Betsie en Clemens stond 30 kg.
Ik wist niet wat PC betekende, maar de dame van het inchecken wel. Toch twijfelde ze er even aan of de bagage van Clemens en Betsie ook wel 2 x 23 kg per persoon mocht zijn. We hebben alle bagage op een grote hoop gegooid
(6 koffers van naar wij dachten 23 kilo en dan nog een extra tasje van ongeveer 10 kilo), maar onze weegschaal thuis was meer voor mensen die eigenlijk niet zoveel willen wegen als ze echt doen en onze koffers haalden dan ook ruim hun 23 kilo. Ik had de incheckdame al gezegd om maar even na te vragen per telefoon of de aangegeven 30 kilo ook inderdaad 46 kilo's mochten zijn.
Zij had echt geen tijd te verliezen met het plegen van dat soort
telefoontjes(!!!) kreeg ik al als antwoord. We hadden van te voren al afgesproken dat als er bibetaald moest worden, dan moest dat dan maar: 1 stuk bagage teveel en meer als 10 kilo te zwaar..... Een goede 250 euro:
jammer. Maar toen alles gewogen was en uit het zicht verdwenen kregen we onze kaartjes en werd er nergens over gesproken. Het eerste meevallertje.
In Parijs stonden we bijna aan de grond toen het vliegtuig ineens weer vol gas gaf en we weer de hoogte inschoten: later vertelde de gezagvoerder dat er nog een vliegtuig klaar stond op de baan waar wij moesten landen. Dat had hem waarschijnlijk een beetje kwaad gemaakt, want na een paar rondjes boven Parijs en Chantilly gevlogen te hebben kwamen wij met grote snleheid en een flinke klap toch op de landingsbaan.
Iets te laat, maar ruimschoots op tijd voor ons volgende vliegtuig. Jammer genoeg was er nergens een gelegenheid tot roken...
Parijs - Bangui: veel ruimte in het vliegtuig. Zelfs iets meer dan voorzien, want 1 passagier was niet komen opdagen. Geen ramp zul je denken, dus wel:
zijn koffers moesten eerst uit het bagageruim gevist worden: 1 uur vertraging.
Een goede maaltijd en enkele uurtjes slaap later zagen we de landingsbaan van Bangui onder ons doorschieten en...... jawel hoor..... weer een doorstart. Weer een paar rondjes gevlogen en toen konden we dan toch landen.
Een uur te laat.
Het was al lekker warm toen we in een overvolle hal op onze bagage stonden te wachten. De band waar de koffers over binnen lopen kon je slechts vaag door een haag van mensen waarnemen. Ik ging er van uit dat wij alle tijd hadden en echt niet als eersten er uit hoefden te zijn. Rusig een sigaretje gerookt terwijl Betsie onze handbagage (ook 5 stuks) bewaakte, maar toen kwam iemand mij zoeken om te zeggen dat onze piloot buiten op ons stond te wachten en dat we snel moesten zijn, want het vliegtuigje dat ons (zonder
bagage) zou doorvliegen naar Mobaye stond al klaar.
Ik door de douane naar buiten om de piloot te zoeken. En jawel, daar stond hij. Hij mocht niet door de douane naar binnen. Na even met de politie gepraat te hebben kon ik hem toch naar binnen loodsen.
Toen begon de strijd om de koffers. Toen we ze eindelijk allemaal hadden was het nog een hele kunst om ze, voor de meeste andere passagiers, door de douane te krijgen. De baas van de douane aangeschoten, uitgelegd wat er aan de hand was en toen kom het openmaken en inspecteren van de koffers beginnen. 1 op de 2 moest opengemaakt worden: een hele koffer met speelgoed, geen bezwaar. Een tas met 15 voetballen, geen bezwaar. koffers met de 5 laptops en de vliegtuig onderdelen, enz. geen bezwaar. Mijn kleinste koffertje (miskoffer) waar ook zo'n 25 leesbrillen inzaten: dat was volkomen mis. Die leesbrillen moesten officieel aangegeven worden, de rekeningen getoond, maar...... ik had geen rekening. Brilletjes gekocht bij ACTION voor
0,69 cent per stuk. We hebben minstens een kwartier, als het geen half uur is, verloren met geklets daar over. Ik had blijkbaar een iets langere adem dan het hoofd van de douane, dus we konden gaan met onze 11 stuks begage (zo'n 180 kilo).
Dan moet je echt uit het douane gebied: elke koffer voorzien van een wit krijtkruisje, getrokken door onze piloot, een assistent van hem, Betsie, Clemens en mijzelf. De deur gaat open ... een massa mensen staat daar te wachten. Van alle kanten worden handen naar de koffers uitgestoken: 11 stuks..... je moet ze wel in de gaten houden. dan staan we buiten met onze elf koffers en 4 dragers op een kluitje. De auto wordt van de parkeerplaats gehaald en dichter bij gezet. De koffers met de ogen volgend op weg naar de
auto: een grote Toyota landcruiser. Een zucht van verlichting als alle 11 stuks bagage aan boord zijn.
Afgerekend met de dragers die een goede dag hebben en elk een paar euro krijgen, en weer terug naar de incheckbalie met onze handbagage, want ons kleine vliegtuigje staat al te wachten met een ongeduldige piloot. Dat vliegtuigje gaat naar Mobaye om iemand van het Internationale Rode Kruis op te halen, dus wij krijgen een lift. Weer door de douane, nu de andere kant op en op naar het 4 zits vliegtuigje. Instappen en wegwezen. Anderhald uur later, na een pracht vlucht over bebost savanne gebied en over de wel zeer brede rivier de Oubangui, landen wij om half elf in Mobaye, waar wij opgewacht worden door Helmut en Isaie onze chauffeur.
Een warm ontvangst.
Helmut vliegt mee terug naar Bangui om te proberen ons eigen vliegtuig weer los te krijgen. Er moet een stempel op een papiertje gezet worden, maar de man van het stempel is het land uit. Misschien weet Helmut nog iemand met een reservestempel op het ministerie van de civiele luchtvaart te vinden.
Anders komt hij van de week met een auto vanuit de hoofdstad naar Mobaye, met onze koffers.
Groeten. Dat waren de eerste 5 uur in Centraal Afrika.
Ben.
(wordt vervolgd)

Nu Mario afwezig is zal ik eens kijken of ik pater Tanneguy van maison St. Charles, Bangui, aan de praat kan krijgen :

Bonsoir Hans

Le Pere Ben est bien arrivé à Bangui. Pour Mobaye, il est parti avec l'avion d'ASF. Pour l'hélice, il semble que la prolongation va être accepté demain. Helmut va donc partir à Mobaye et basé l'avion là-bas. Pour les problèmes d'insécurité, il est difficile de dire quelque chose cartout est confus. On verra la suite. Sinon, tout va bien. Merci pour ton message sur le froid. Cela fait du bien de rire.

A bientôt,

Tanneguy,

BANGUI, 20 Nov 2006 (IRIN) - The army of the Central African Republic has told aid agencies to suspend their activities in the northwestern town of Paoua until military operations against armed groups in the area are over, the military and aid agency officials said on Monday."We have been asked to stop our operations in and around the town of Paoua for security reasons," Mario Baldin, the head of Italian NGO COOPI in Bangui, said. The order also affects Médecins Sans Frontières-France and the International Committee of the Red Cross which operate in the area. As a result of this measure, residents will be without medical services as hospitals and clinics have already been destroyed since the army began fighting armed groups in the area in January. There is no clear indication of just how long the suspension of humanitarian activity will last. MSF workers in Paoua said children were the most affected by the fighting. Many were malnourished, they said, and 95 percent in the Paoua Sub-prefecture Hospital are suffering from malaria.Although the NGOs have been asked to suspend operations, they are not required to leave Paoua. Consequently, Baldin said, COOPI would follow the example of the International Committee of the Red Cross and remain in the area. MSF-France said on Friday it preferred "to keep silent" on its present and planned activities in the area. For the past two weeks, Baldin said, Paoua remaining residents had been fleeing Paoua, fearing they would get caught up in the fighting. "When you talk to people in the town you feel they have the feeling that something drastic is likely to happen in the region," he said. Before the fighting erupted on 29 January, the town's population was between 35,000 and 40,000. Some have now fled to neighbouring Chad. The town's remaining population is unknown.The decision by the army in Paoua to suspend humanitarian activities in the region has followed army complaints that since January humanitarian organisations have been providing armed bandits and rebels with medical help and food in the zone.However, Baldin denied any deliberate action in this respect. "We don’t know who the rebels are," he said. "We are providing assistance to villagers in need and we are unable to tell the difference between civilians and armed bandits or rebels."Armed groups and rebels in Paoua are not uniformed, making it impossible to distinguish them from civilians. The most significant is the Armée Populaire pour la Restauration de la République et de la démocratie, headed by Bedaya N'Djadder, a former gendarme who defected from the service.Since October 2005, armed groups have attacked the army several times in the Paoua area. Since then fighting has intensified. "Fierce fighting between the rebel groups and Chadian troops has been going on in the region and around Paoua since last weekend," a lieutenant at army headquarters in Bangui, who declined to be identified, said. This resurgence in military activity in the northwest comes as other rebels, known as the Union des forces démocratiques pour le rassemblement, have so far captured three towns in the north of the country and are targeting Bria, capital of the northeastern province of Haute-Kotto. With at least 20,000 inhabitants, Bria often has food problems as the town's economic mainstay is diamond mining. It has little agricultural activity and food is expensive.

BANGUI, 16 Nov 2006 (IRIN) - A humanitarian team on an assessment mission to Bria, northern Central African Republic (CAR), found a shortage of meat in the area, a sign that most of its cattle-breeding residents had fled because of rebel activity, a United Nations official said on Thursday.At the same time, a rebel coalition that has already captured three towns in the north claimed it had captured a fourth town on Wednesday. The town of Ouadda, in the northeastern prefecture of Haute-Kotto, reportedly fell into rebel hands after government troops there joined the rebellion.Briefing journalists in Bangui, the capital, on Wednesday's trip to Bria, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator, Toby Lanzer, said local authorities had told him that 5,000 to 10,000 people had fled the town.Lanzer led the team to Bria, which comprised officials of the UN World Food Programme, Médecins Sans Frontières-Holland, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the World Health Organization.Bria was reportedly the next target of the rebel coalition that is opposed to President François Bozize, whom they accused of ruling along ethnic lines.The mission to Bria was the first by a UN delegation to the northern part of the country since the rebellion broke out on 30 October when the rebels captured Birao, capital of the northern prefecture of Vakaga.Lanzer said the team could not verify the numbers of displaced because the ICRC investigation was still under way. Quoting local authorities in Bria, Lanzer said: "Those who fled the town made their way toward the neighbouring town of Bamabari or Bangui and some have gone into the bush."On Tuesday, the deputy head of Bria told IRIN that civilians fleeing rebel-controlled areas such as Ouadda-Djalle and Sam-Ouandja were arriving in Bria. Regarding the food shortage, Lanzer said, "The scarcity of meat on the market showed that people - some of whom are cattle breeders - had left the region."Lanzer appealed to international donors to come to the aid of the CAR."Come, come quickly," he said. "It is necessary to invest in this country; it is necessary to foster development in this country."He linked the current unrest in the north to lack of investment and development. "It is necessary to show the population that there really is hope and that things will improve," he added.Lanzer said the problems the country was facing arose from poverty linked to poor investment and development, paving the way for instability."One should not wait for 100 percent stability in all parts of this country before making investments," he said. Lanzer's remarks reflect the deteriorating economic and social situation in the CAR in the last two decades. Foreign investment has dwindled and the economy has deteriorated.Bozize seized power from President Ange-Felix Patasse in March 2003. He retained the position after elections in May 2005.

BANGUI, 14 Nov 2006 (IRIN) - A large number of civilians displaced by rebel activity in northern Central African Republic (CAR) have in the past three days flocked into the mining town of Bria, where the army and forces of Central African States Economic Community (CEMAC) have sent troops and materials to halt the insurgents.The Union des forces démocratiques pour le rassemblement (UFDR) rebels have so far captured three towns in the north, and have said they are targeting Bria, capital of the northeastern province of Haute-Kotto. With at least 20,000 inhabitants, Bria often has food problems as the town's economic mainstay is diamond mining. It has little agricultural activity and food is expensive."The large influx of displaced people in Bria is making life even more expensive," a businessman, who declined to be named, told IRIN on Tuesday.So far, no organisation is providing relief aid for the displaced, estimated by independent sources in the region to number at least 10,000.The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in CAR, Toby Lanzer, said he would lead a UN team to Bria on Wednesday to assess the situation.Meanwhile, France has acceded to a request by President François Bozize for military aid to help repulse the UFDR rebels, who began fighting in the north two weeks ago. France said it would provide logistics and military equipment to the army. "This assistance is provided in the frame of the military and defence accord between France and our country," Cyriaque Gonda, Bozize's spokesman, said. "This assistance will boost the efficiency of the army to stop the rebels' progression and restore the country's territorial integrity."Acknowledging the rebel capture of northern towns of Birao and Ouadda-Djallé, Gonda said residents of the small mining town of Sam-Ouandja, the third town the rebels claim to have seized, fled before the rebels' arrival. UFDR spokesman Abakar Saboune criticized the French gesture. "We are really unhappy with the decision by France to provide the CAR troops with logistics and materials," he said. "This assistance illustrates French support for the ruling regime rather than the people who want to put an end to chaotic rule of President Bozize."He said the rebels had, in the meantime, suspended their operations in order to give Bozize time to "change his mind" and agree to "holding round-table talks over power sharing in our country. This truce aims at mobilising African leaders in the sub-region to persuade President Bozize to call for dialogue," Saboune added.Since they captured Birao, the rebels have been calling for power-sharing talks with Bozize, claming the president was running the country on ethnic lines. They have also accused Bozize of fostering an exclusionist policy, mismanaging public funds, corruption and nepotism.

BANGUI, 13 Nov 2006 (IRIN) - Humanitarian workers have expressed concern over the situation in northern Central African Republic (CAR), where anti-government rebels have claimed to have seized a third town, with civilians fleeing their homes to avoid being trapped."The humanitarian situation is more fragile than ever," Toby Lanzer, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator in the country, said on Monday. "Increasing violence is not what the people of this country need."Although no official government report has so far been provided on the situation in the north, there are fears the humanitarian situation could deteriorate as people seek refuge in other towns. Independent sources in the region say the unrest in the north since late October has displaced at least 10,000 civilians. This number could not be confirmed by humanitarian organisations, however, because they do not have a presence in the rebel-controlled towns.The national Red Cross said it had no details on the situation in the north. "We have no contact with people in the region," Alphonse Zarambaud, the Red Cross national programme coordinator, said. "We are still trying and we will put out details as soon as we get them."In the latest incident, some residents fled their homes on Saturday in the town of Sam-Ouandja, which the rebel coalition, the Union des forces démocratiques pour le rassemblement (UFDR), claimed to have captured."Despite appeals by rebels asking civilians to stay calm, some have fled to neighbouring cities," Abakari Ousseine, a resident of Sam-Ouandja, told IRIN on Monday from the northern town.Sam-Ouandja, a mining town of at least 10,000 inhabitants in the northern prefecture of Haute Kotto, is not easily accessible during the rainy season as the road to the town has not been maintained for years.Ousseine said although the rebels had not mistreated civilians, "they have collected all Thuraya satellite phones from mining companies and individuals" to "secure their position and to prevent any communication with the regular army".The UFDR leader, Michel Detodia, has said President Francois Bozize has ruled on an ethnic basis since seizing power from President Ange-Felix Patasse in March 2003. "Many people from other ethnic groups and different political parties are ostracised and banned from participating in the management of the country," he said.On Monday, Bozize's spokesman, Cyriaque Gonda, said there was no rebel activity in Sam-Ouandja. "People should stop propagating false information to confuse the population," he said.Gonda was reacting to a declaration by the rebel coalition that they had captured the town. "We are now in full control of the town," Abakar Saboune, the UFDR spokesman, said. Saboune said their next objective was to capture the mining town of Bria, which is the capital of Haute-Kotto.Sam-Ouandja became the third town seized by the rebels since the conquest began two weeks ago. They seized Birao, capital of Vakaga Prefecture near the border with Sudan, on 30 October and took Ouadda-Djallé, 110 km south of Birao, on Friday.On Monday, army officials seemed to contradict Gonda's statement that Sam-Ouandja was not under rebel control. A major, who requested anonymity as he is not an authorised army information officer, said, "These rebels have captured this town since yesterday morning and as far as I know no action has been taken to dislodge them." He added there were no soldiers in Sam-Ouandja when the rebels arrived in the town.Meanwhile, army troops were sent on Sunday to try to stop the rebel advance. Military officials said the troops deployed comprised elements of the national army and those of the Central African States Economic Community, known by its French acronym CEMAC.Political observers say the army is not well equipped and trained to stop the rebels. A diplomat in the capital, Bangui, who declined to be named, said, "The CAR needs the help of a foreign force to get rid of the assailants."The diplomat added that the army needed better training to rid it of its "disruptive behaviour".Since the rebel crisis broke out in late October, Bozize has appealed to France for help. However, France has so far not responded. Bozize has accused neighbouring Sudan of supporting the rebel coalition, saying the attackers who seized Birao came from Sudan's troubled Darfur region.On Saturday, a Sudanese delegation, led by Planning and Cooperation Minister El-Tijane Salleh Fedail, arrived in Bangui and held talks with Bozize on the rebel crisis. In an interview on national radio, Fedail denied Sudan's involvement in the rebel activity in the north. Members of the delegation suggested the two countries should together ensure security along their 1,100-km border.

Hi Hans

I have still got no news regarding the propeller. So at the moment I am still grounded. But we are also still trying to get an extension.
Albertine told me that Bas is supposed to come first week of December and asked if I could stay with him till mid January. The problem is that I believe if the propeller does not get shipped by the end of November it will not be available here before January. With the Christmas holidays in December customs officers will not be working here. For me staying that long might be a problem as well since I may have a chance getting a job in Austria. There is a new business airline starting in May 2007. I have sent a CV and they are interested. Apart from that I found out that the responsible person for pilot training is a former flight instructor of mine. I flew with him when I did my Austrian PPL in 1993.
Ben will come back on 18 November and I will drive them to Mobaye. The road to Bangassou is still no problem as far as security is concerned. But the road from Kongbo to Mobaye is very, very bad as is the road from Grimari to Kuango due to the rains. You can imagine that the people there are not happy having to drive instead of flying. So it will be an interesting drive to Mobaye. Lots of other roads are not very safe at the moment. Birao is still in the hands of rebels. MSF were trying to find someone to fly them to Birao but nobody would go. The latest I have heard was that they want to go by vehicle via Bria, Yalinga, Ouadda. That seems a dangerous undertaking to me since apart from the rebels in the area the roads there are not maintained at all.
This morning we heard that the rebels have also taken Ouanda Djalle. The rebel leader is said to have announced that he will come to Bangui. Rumours are that he is a former liberator, that is to say that he was fighting for Bozize in 2003. He is Chadian and apparently was arrested after the Coup d’Etat. It is said that he spent some time in jail in CAR and then in Chad.
When I was in Berberati the priests there told me that they do not drive far out of town because you are risking having to walk back home after you have been robbed of everything. M’Baiki seems still ok. Last week Regine and Jacky were here. They said that the checkpoints on the way to Bangui are guarded heavily though at the moment.
One thing I have heard is very worrying. It seems that in the area of Kaga Bandoro the regular military has been destroying some villages where they suspected that inhabitants supported the rebels. Furthermore I heard that the rebels are treating the population much better than the military. Not a very reassuring situation.
Yesterday I read on the Austrian news web site that in the course of last week about 220 people were killed in eastern Chad by Janjaweed from Sudan.


Regards
Mario

BANGUI, 10 Nov 2006 (IRIN) - A rebel coalition operating in northern Central African Republic (CAR) captured a second town on Friday, their spokesman said. "We captured the town of Ouadda-Djalle in the early hours of the morning," Abakar Saboune, spokesman of the Union des forces démocratiques pour le rassemblement coalition, told IRIN. He said rebel forces had engaged government soldiers in a "fierce battle" before seizing the town.

However, Cyriaque Gonda, the spokesman of President Francois Bozize, said the town's current status was unclear."I cannot confirm the capture of the town of Ouadda-Djalle by rebel groups for the time being," he said. "All I know is that some rebels were located around this town a few days ago."
If confirmed, the capture of Ouadda-Djallé, 110 km south of Birao, would mark an increase in rebel activity in the north. The rebels captured the town of Birao on 30 October. After that, the rebels had said they would not advance on the capital and would seek dialogue with the government. However, on 1 November, Bozize appealed to France, the one-time colonial power here, to help repulse the rebels. That seemed to trigger this rebel response.
"We have no alternative but to resort to military action since Gen Bozize and his regime are opposed to dialogue," Saboune said. Control of Ouadda-Djallé is an important strategic gain, Saboune said, because it allows for the easy movement of armoured vehicles. "We are waiting for our heavy materials to arrive in Ouadda-Djalle and we will launch a new attack on Ndele and the mining town of Bria", he said.
The capture of Ouadda-Djallé came 48 hours after thousands of people marched through the capital, Bangui, demanding that the army confront the rebels. Earlier this week, military officials said an unidentified aircraft had made several landings in Birao during its capture. The officials said the plane was carrying materials for the rebels. An army captain, who requested anonymity, said on Friday that among the new equipment the rebels possessed were several armoured vehicles. This latest rebel activity highlights the problem of the national forces' capability to control the north without outside help. A diplomat who spoke on conditions of anonymity said: "The country's army is not strong enough to cope with internal and external security problems. The national army cannot restore peace and order in the rebel-captured towns unless it receives foreign support."
Observers believe that President Idriss Deby of neighbouring Chad, who is also facing a rebellion at home, is unlikely to help CAR. Deby had helped Bozize seize power in March 2003 by putting Chadian troops at his disposal. With roughly 4,500 troops, the CAR army needs restructuring. Most of the soldiers are overage and indiscipline is rife. Enrolment in the army is often based on ethnic or regional loyalties, making it more regional than national.

Hello Hans

About the other 206 I only repeated what I was told about their take-off. It is possible to bounce like that if you force the plane to fly too early.
With the heavy load even in ground effect it will not accelerate properly or worse, once you get out of ground effect (happens quite early with the high
wing) it will come down again.
I know that you can put a lot in the 206 and it will still fly. I am just not very comfortable when it is too heavy because you put a lot of strain on the undercarriage and tires on these rough runways. Even in Bangassou there are some ruts now since the Antonov 12 has landed there a few times. On top of all that the plane does not take a lot of load with full tanks (at least officially). Six people (male adults), full tanks and no luggage will already put you about 150 kg over the max TOW. The CoG will also be dangerously close to the rear limit, more likely beyond. And you know what it means when people tell you that they do not have much luggage. They have usually got more than what they would be allowed on the Air France plane.
In M´boki I took of with 4 passengers with quite a lot of luggage and about 230 litres of fuel (hundred litres less than full tanks). It is quite a long runway there with a little down gradient towards the east but I still came over the trees very low at a lower speed than usual. Granted, it was quite a warm day as well, but when is it not warm here? In general you are usually at density altitudes between 2500 and 3500 feet. With the cargo pod you have to add 10% to your take off run because you can not use the 20 degrees of flaps with a weight over 3450 pounds (roughly 1570 kg; max TOW is 3600 pounds or 1633 kg). Of course the climb to altitude (at least to 6000 feet to avoid head winds in the rainy season) takes forever. So that does put extra strain on the engine and uses lots of fuel. Of course the cruising speed with the same power setting is lower as well. I found it to be at least 10 knots less (indicated speed) than when I am alone in the plane.
That will cost you more fuel again. So in the end result I think that it will cost you more in the long term to load the plane too much. But we all know that from time to time we take off over with higher weight than published max TOW. But that we do on our own risk because nobody will cover our behind even if it is just a burst tire and nobody gets hurt. Insurance will not cover you and a new plane is costly.
For the coming hunting season I doubt that there will be a lot of hunters with this security situation in the country at the moment. Most of the hunting areas are to close to hot spots. The northern and north-eastern parts of the country are too close to Chad and Sudan. With the situation in DRC not yet clear we do not yet know what to expect there. If Kabila wins the election that was held last Sunday, which is likely, (official results are to be presented on the 19. of November) Bemba will probably retreat to his stronghold which is the northern part of DRC. From there he does not have access to any seaports. Since Bemba and Patassé seem to be close there is a chance that Bemba might assist Patassé in another coup d.état. In exchange he could gain access to the seaport via CAR and Cameroon. This is of course my personal speculation. But you remember my last speculation about the shooting in Gabdolite. It was in fact Mobutus son rallying on behalf of Kabila when they were attacked by followers of Bemba.
Idris Deby seems to be battling in Chad as well and we know what the situation in Sudan is like. CAR is now unfortunately more or less surrounded by countries with a very fragile political and security situation. Allegedly Deby said that if he should be thrown over at noon, Bozize will follow at 2 o.clock.
A few days ago an anti-aircraft missile was fired at a French (I assume) reconnaissance plane in southern Chad, not far from the border to CAR. It did not hit but shows that the rebels are equipped well.
The trip to La Gounda is not happening due to the grounded plane and because Sr. Noella broke a leg and is flying to France this coming Saturday.
I will keep you up to date on the situation here. I have got time now to listen around and look what is going on.

Regards

Mario

Hi Hans

The latest news, not too good.
First, the plane is grounded. I can not get an extension for the propeller and have to wait for the new one to come. The problem with the extension is that there is a service bulletin from McCauley that states that you need a recommendation from McCauley to have the local authorities sign that. I already talked to Marc about it and it seems that it is not possible to get that any easy way.
All I can do now is hope that the new propeller comes soon and get the work done.
So I will have some time to "make up" some more stories over the next few days.

Second, rebels have taken Birao the day before yesterday. I do not know who they are. Lots of rumours only.
Will update when I know more.

Regards

Mario

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