Foreign and Diaspora Affairs CS Alfred Mutua [Photo: K24]
The government through the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs has begun evacuating its citizens stuck in Sudan with the help of neighbouring countries, as the conflict there continues.
In a statement, Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Cabinet Secretary (CS) Alfred Mutua said his ministry has already engaged in three evacuation plans, estimated to evacuate between 300 and 400 Kenyans stranded in the war-torn country.
The CS said the first program has seen 29 Kenyan students cross the border to Ethiopia, where they will fly to Addis Ababa then to Nairobi.
According to Mutua, the 29 are currently heading to Gondor where they will catch their flight to Addis Ababa.
The Foreign Affairs CS said the third program will see a large number of Kenyans airlifted back into the country.
“The Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs has three active evacuation programs: One, we have already facilitated 29 Kenyan students to cross the border to Ethiopia. They are on their way to Gondor where they will fly to Addis Ababa then to Nairobi. Two, we have a Kenya Airforce aircraft ready for a group of 18 students who are currently travelling by road to the South Sudan border. They will be airlifted to Nairobi,” Mutua stated.
“Three, a larger group of Kenyans are on a well-planned program of travel and we will have two aircraft ferry them from Port Sudan to Jeddah and thereafter travel to Nairobi by Kenya Airways.”
The rescue is being conducted in coordination with the Kenya Air Force, the ministry said, adding it has three active evacuation programmes.
At least 400 people have been killed and 3,550 injured in the country’s conflict involving rival military factions.
The conflict is between army boss Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s forces and paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
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