Nairobi — Kenya has evacuated 409 citizens and over 500 foreign nationals from Sudan as the ongoing conflict between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), continues for the third week.
Speaking to the press in Nairobi Tuesday, Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua said that that the government will evacuate every Kenyan in Sudan who wants to leave Khartoum.
"We have evacuated 409 Kenyans. There are Kenyans who are outside Khartoum who have decided they want to stay so we are evacuating anybody who wants to leave Sudan. I want to thank South Sudan, Ethiopia and other countries that have allowed Kenyans to cross their borders and come here." he said.
CS Mutua further stated that the evacuation process was still open and that Kenya had availed its airspace including airports such as Eldoret and Lokichogio for humanitarian and technical support for any special operations.
"We have also evacuated in excess of 500 other nationalities that are here. We need to have permission for The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and others to enter Sudan to be able to take supplies that are even based in Nairobi all the way to the people of Sudan. We need the United Nations (UN) and others to get down to the ground and be able to work," he added.
The worsening conflict between Sudan's two most powerful men is escalating into a major humanitarian crisis where the fighting looks set to trigger further displacement both within and outside the country as thousands of refugees cross over into The Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya and South Sudan.
According to Martin Griffiths, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, goods essential for people's survival are becoming scarce in the hardest-hit urban centres, especially Khartoum, and families are struggling to access water, food, fuel and other critical commodities. The cost of transportation out of worst-hit areas has risen exponentially, leaving the most vulnerable unable to locate to safer areas.
