Foreign and Diaspora Affairs CS Alfred Mutua has announced that the government has begun evacuating Kenyans from Sudan.
CS Alfred Mutua noted that the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs has already engaged three evacuation programs for Kenyans in Sudan.
According to the CS, 29 Kenyan students have so far been able to cross the border to Ethiopia in the first program after which they will fly to Addis Ababa then finally to Nairobi.
“Two, we have a Kenya Airforce aircraft ready for a group of 18 students who are currently traveling by road to the South Sudan border. They will be airlifted to Nairobi,” he said in a statement on Monday, April 24.
Moreover, CS Mutua noted that the third program will see several Kenyans airlifted back into the country. The CS said Kenyans to be evacuated are approximately between 300 and 400.
“Three, a larger group of Kenyans are on a well-planned program of travel, and we will have two aircrafts ferry them from Port Sudan to Jeddah and thereafter travel to Nairobi by Kenya Airways. We estimate to ferry 300-400 Kenyans this way, if not more.” CS Mutua said in a statement.
Furthermore, in his statement, CS Mutua thanked the governments of South Sudan, Ethiopia, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia for allowing Kenyan planes to overfly their airspaces as they evacuate stranded citizens.
Also Read: Kenya to Send Contingent of Police Officers to Battle Gangs in Haiti – CS Mutua
“I also, in particular, thank the Governments of South Sudan and Ethiopia for heeding to our request and allowing Kenyans to cross their borders and make it to safety,” CS Mutua said.
Nonetheless, these evacuations come following a fierce power struggle between the army and a powerful paramilitary force in Khartoum.
The war in Sudan’s capital has led to the death of hundreds of people with thousands more injured.