MOGADISHU, Somalia
Somalia, Djibouti, and Kenya have begun evacuating their citizens from Sudan as fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces that erupted on April 15 continues intermittently.
The first group of Somali citizens, including students, arrived in Ethiopia, an official of the country’s Foreign Ministry told local media in Mogadishu on Monday.
He said 27 Somali nationals, including four women, have arrived in Ethiopia after crossing the border at Metema on Friday.
Meanwhile, the Somali National Disaster Management Agency (SoDMA) has established 24-hour hotlines for Somali people in Sudan who require evacuation.
“If you’re a Somali Citizen in Sudan or you have family & friends there, IMMEDIATELY contact SoDMA,” the agency said in a statement on Monday.
Djibouti has also begun to evacuate its diplomatic staff and citizens from Sudan.
Several diplomats, including Djiboutian Ambassador to Sudan Issa Khaire, arrived in Djibouti City on Monday, the country's Foreign Minister Mohamoud Ali Youssouf confirmed on Monday.
“The trip was exhausting with a lot of stress, but Alhamdulillah they are safe and sound,” the Djiboutian top diplomat said in a message on Twitter, adding that 40 students are expected to arrive later in the day.
Meanwhile, Kenya has also confirmed relocating 29 of its students who were stranded in Sudan owing to intense clashes with heavy weapons.
The students have now been relocated to Ethiopia, from where they will fly to Addis Ababa and then to Nairobi, Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua said in a statement issued in Nairobi on Monday.
Kenya is working to evacuate nearly 400 students from Sudan, he added.
“I also, in particular, thank the Governments of South Sudan and Ethiopia for heeding our request and allowing Kenyans to cross their borders and make it to safety,” Mutua said.
Uganda also confirmed on Monday that four buses carrying 208 Ugandans began their 768-kilometer (477-mile) journey from its embassy in Khartoum to Ethiopia.
From their temporary destination at Gandor Airport in Western Ethiopia, the evacuees are expected to board flights back to Uganda from Entebbe Airport, Ugandan Ambassador to Khartoum Rashid Yahya Ssemuddu said in a statement.
The evacuees are now returning home, first to Ethiopia, he stated, adding that they will keep the country updated on the evacuees' movement.
According to the embassy, 208 people have boarded the buses, including 98 women and children, and they include diplomats, students, and members of the working community.
An estimated 300 Ugandans were reportedly stranded in Sudan when clashes erupted between two warring military units in Khartoum.
Meanwhile, Chad's Minister of Communication Aziz Mahamat Saleh announced on Monday that his country will evacuate 438 nationals from Khartoum to Port Sudan, where a special repatriation flight will pick them up.
He said among the evacuees are pilgrims, diplomats, and their families, as well as patients and students.
Chad’s President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno held talks with “Somali belligerents” to facilitate their evacuation, he added.
"Let us pray that they return safely," he wrote on Twitter.
Fighting between the two warring Sudanese military units has entered its ninth day, killing over 420 people and injuring 3,700 others, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs for Southern and Eastern Africa.
The UN said the prices of essential items are “sharply increasing due to shortages.”
Thousands of people are fleeing to Chad, Egypt, and South Sudan, the UN said on Monday.
Andrew Wasike in Nairobi, Kenya, Hamza Kyeyune in Kampala, Uganda, and James Tasamba in Kigali contributed to this report |
