Beyond the Cabbage Tree

            On the morning of December first, Martin Elfrink, the operations manager, received an urgent call from the Sudanese Military requesting our help with a small problem on the Ethiopian Sudanese border near Karoa, in the foothills of Jebel Tefleina, approximately thirty miles inland from the Red Sea  coast. I reported to Field Marshal Kallafalla's company office for a briefing with a Colonel from the Sudanese Army. Apparently the Ethiopian border post had been attacked  and occupied during the night  by the Eritrean liberation rebels, from the Sudanese side of the border. There were also reports that two hundred and fifty refugees, mostly women and children had arrived on Sudanese territory, which was a cause of some concern to the authorities. There was no airstrip in the area, so the dry river bed depicting the border, was considered a possible landing place, but was ruled out by the Colonel, because of  possible risks of us becoming a  target. The Colonel  suggested to clear an area 300 meters x 6meters near the road  two or three miles from the border to use as an airstrip, and indicate the landing direction with four military Landrovers parked on each corner facing the same direction. The Colonel and I departed Khartoum for Atbara, to load some weapons, ammunition and HF radio equipment, then proceeded to Port Sudan to refuel.

            During the stopover the Colonel received an updated briefing on the situation at Karoa, and  told me the landing area was prepared, and  the situation at the border appeared calm. “There is no reason why we should not return within two or three hours,” he said.  We departed Port Sudan and headed south along the Red Sea coast to Suakin, then followed an improvised road to Tokar. After passing Tokar we  followed the dirt track road at low level until reaching the prepared landing site near Karoa. The four military Landrovers were positioned exactly as planned, almost parallel to the road, where the soldiers had made an excellent job of clearing the  rocks off the gravel surface. After landing, the cargo was loaded into the vehicles to be transported to the border. The Colonel asked me to come with him  as he considered I had more protection being with them, than if I stayed with the aircraft. Perhaps the thought went through his mind I may take off and leave him behind! Two soldiers were detailed to guard the aircraft,  while the Colonel and I traveled on the back of the lead Landrover of the  four vehicle convoy, towards the border. When we were within a mile of border, two Ethiopian Air Force aircraft were observed diving down towards the border post  with their guns rattling. Our vehicles came to a sudden halt, and  everyone ran for cover behind an outcrop of huge rocks, I was not far behind them!.

            After two strafing runs the aircraft disappeared out of sight, “Just as well we didn't land in the river bed, it's a long  walk out of here,” said the Colonel. When all went quiet, we proceeded to the border where it was quite chaotic, with some two to three hundred refugees milling around in a confused state. The situation was quite strange, the Ethiopian border post was occupied by the rebels with the Ethiopian army standing off in the Ethiopian hills, and a few Sudanese troops  observing the situation, from the Sudanese side, and trying to cope with the resulting refugee problem. I was assigned a bunker, built with rocks from the surrounding area, and had nothing better to do, than  drink local made sweet tea, and watch what was going on. 

            The Colonel joined me after discussions with his troops and informed me  the mission time had  increased from around two hours, to at least one overnight stop! During the afternoon sporadic gun fire could be heard, and two more strafing attacks were carried out by the Ethiopian Air Force, and by evening, all was quiet. Some of the army boys killed a large ram and prepared a type of thick spicy stew for the evening meal, which did not look very appetizing at all, but as I was bloody starving, I squatted with the soldiers around a large  bowl, and like them, used my hands as cutlery, followed by a mug of sweet  tea. There was no waste of valuable water for washing knives, forks and  plates, there was only the mugs and one very large bowl to clean.

            During the night the Ethiopian Army  regained control of their border post, and in the early morning, sent a runner across the border with a message to the Colonel, requesting a meeting at 0800 hours on neutral territory, at the halfway point  between the two border posts. The runner waited while the Colonel wrote a reply message, agreeing to the meeting, before the runner returned to the Ethiopian side. It was  interesting to watch both men walk out to meet each other, each  unarmed, and each flying a white flag. The Colonel returned and told us the Ethiopians were coming across with their trucks to pick up the refugees and return them to their village, and as far as he was concerned the problem was over. After the refugees were returned across the border, the Colonel said, “Come on, let's get back to Khartoum.” The aircraft was converted back to spraying configuration, and I  returned to the cotton spraying project for a few days before returning to Khartoum to hand over to the two permanent pilots NAO  had employed, Hans Butschi, from Switzerland, and Zulu Szilisztiny a Hungarian Swiss, both experienced Pilatus Porter pilots, and I  returned to the UK for Christmas and New Year.