Marsland Aviation (Khartoum) has suspended operations, the airline's president Rasheed Azim Ortashi has said. Mr Ortashi laid the blame on US sanctions on Sudan which have forced the Sudanese central bank to implement restrictive foreign currency remittance policies. "We are really begging, begging the USA to lift the sanctions on the private companies in Sudan. They are dying," Ortashi told the AFP. As such, Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt International) is now set to follow in the footsteps of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL, Amsterdam Schiphol) when it drops Khartoum flights from January 19, 2014. Additionally, the cessation and subsequent political impasse with oil-rich South Sudan has left Khartoum's coffers running dry forcing the central bank to implement drastic measures to stem the outflow of much needed foreign currency. An inconsistent exchange rate coupled with fuel price hikes has also exacerbated the situation among airline operators. A recent report by the Sudan Tribune says nine local carriers have been forced to close by the downturn in business. Sudanese airlines had sourced a great deal of business from the Non Governmental Organization (NGO) community, though this has now dried up given that most have shut up shop and moved to the South Sudanese capital, Juba.