Flights from Egypt to Khartoum stopped due fighting

Commercial flights between Cairo and the Sudanese capital were suspended today, a day after Darfur rebels fought Sudanese troops in a Khartoum suburb, Egyptian airport sources and state media said.

National carrier EgyptAir cancelled its morning flight to Khartoum after receiving word from Khartoum international airport that the airport was closed for security reasons, Egyptian state news agency MENA said.

MENA also quoted an Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman condemning the rebel attack on Khartoum. The spokesman said that widening the scale of the Darfur conflict could further complicate the situation and derail peace efforts.

One witness in Khartoum said yesterday he saw three Egyptian fighter jets and one Egyptian military cargo plane land in Khartoum, in a sign that Cairo was extending support to Khartoum.

Airport sources in Cairo, one of the main air links to Sudan, said no other flights were taking off for Khartoum. Kenya Airways, which also flies to Khartoum via Cairo, said it was waiting for news from Khartoum on whether an evening flight would be able to go ahead, an airline official said.