By Les Neuhaus
Friday, November 10, 2006
The crew of the C-130 cargo plane planned to make several deliveries of food, water containers, plastic sheeting, bedding and water purification materials near the Somali border, spokesperson Captain Jonathan Friedman said.
Ethiopia's Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Agency said that at least 80 people have been confirmed dead and more than 217 000 made homeless in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia. Operation Unity Eclipse was a joint effort by the agency and the US-led Combined Joint Task Force, Horn of Africa.
The crew said it was happy to be conducting a humanitarian mission in one of the poorest countries in the world.
"In all my years since I have been doing this job this is one of the more interesting missions I have been involved with," said Technical Sergeant James M Cope of Abilene, Texas. "I am a long way from home, but this kind of mission is the reason I joined the military."
Seasonal rains have been extremely heavy this year, causing widespread flooding in Ethiopia and Somalia. Floods in August left more than 630 people dead and nearly 200 000 homeless and took heavy tolls on agriculture and livestock.
The US task force, based in neighbouring Djibouti, has 1 800 troops assigned to fight terrorism in the Horn of Africa by promoting regional development, training local militaries and collecting intelligence.
Source: AP, Nov 10, 2006