Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale on Monday night received the first group of evacuees from war-torn Sudan
The group consisted of 19 Kenyans, 19 Somalis and one Saudi Arabian national landed at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi aboard a military aircraft.
The 39 evacuees first had to travel by road to South Sudan where they boarded onto the spartan aircraft.
The CS who was accompanied by senior officials from the Kenya Defence Forces State Department for Diaspora Affairs, Ministry of Interior and Administration and the Red Cross Society, revealed that all were students from the International University of Africa, Khartoum
“I commend these people for making the long journey and thank the teams involved in facilitating their movement. The Government is committed to ensuring the safe return of Kenyans from Sudan,” said CS Duale.
Duale lauded the youngsters for their courage and resilience in braving the ongoing unrest in Sudan, further encouraging Kenyans stranded and their families back home to continue registering with the State Department for Diaspora Affairs for logistical purposes.
“Our position as a country committed to regional peace and stability is similar to that of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) as pronounced by President William Ruto,” he added.
He further said that “war knows no good neighbourhood. When it strikes, our first priority is our nationals.”
On his part, Foreign Affairs CS Alfred Mutua thanked the countries that allowed the Kenyans to cross the borders from Sudan and allowed Kenyan aircraft to fly over their airspace to carry out the noble exercise.
He said that more evacuees will be airlifted to Nairobi in the coming days by a team of military officials who are leading the exercise in collaboration with Foreign Affairs officials.
Foreign Affairs PS Roseline Njogu said the next batch of evacuees will include a group of 29 students who crossed the border into Ethiopia after fleeing Sudan and that they would be flown home soon.
The government has already identified 3,000 Kenyans in Sudan and is urging those in need of evacuation to register their names, locations and passport numbers on emergency hotlines so that necessary arrangements can be made.
The war has played out in the Sudanese capital Khartoum since April 15 with forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan have been confronting those of his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the RSF.
At least 427 people had been confirmed killed and more than 3,700 wounded, the AFP news agency reported on Monday, quoting UN agencies.
On Monday night, the two rivals agreed to a US-brokered three-day ceasefire after 10 days of heavy fighting that triggered a mass evacuation of diplomats and foreigners from the country.
