South Sudan launches evacuation campaign for nationals in Sudan
July 17, 2024 (JUBA) – South Sudan has launched an evacuation campaign to support its nationals in war zones of Sudan after authorities gave them ultimatum to leave.
South Sudan’s minister of foreign affairs minister, Ramadan Mohamed Abdallah Goch said the country’s top leadership was conducting verification of reports carrying graphic images showing authorities in Sudan cracking down on and rounding up foreigners, mostly South Sudanese nationals at the border states with South Sudan.
Those arrested are put enclosures in preparation for deportation out of the country.
Led by Akoc Akuei Manhiem, the aim of the evacuation team which comprises of current senior and former government officials to mobilize the population, sympathizers, business people, members of the humanitarian community, civil society, faith-based groups, public institutions, opinion leaders, and individuals to contribute in kind and ideas to influence how the initiative could be a success.
Ateny Wek Ateny, former presidential spokesman described the initiative as a response to the developing humanitarian and security situation involving South Sudanese nationals in Sudan.
“This is actually an initiative into which the government of South Sudan and the people of goodwill should inject the money to enable those strapped in the conflict zones in Sudan to be extracted.It is for evacuation purposes of South Sudanese in Sudan. this is the purpose of the call. It is an emergency evacuation of the citizens of South Sudan in Sudan,” he explained.
Ateny urged the Sudanese government to give them time to mobilize resources to remove the people in the areas in which they are strapped.
“I appeal to the government to engage the Sudanese parties to extend the ultimatum in order to enable us to mobilize resources to save lives. First, we would need to know locations of concentration, the route of access, their safety, and plan how to evacuate. This requires time as it involves identification of the people, the places in which they can be extracted, and coordination with all the parties in Sudan. It can not be abrupt to provide access and escort”, he explained.
Several high-placed South Sudanese security and diplomatic sources told Sudan Tribune that the Sudanese armed forces fighting the paramilitary Rapid Support Force are upset over the presence of South Sudanese nationals in Sudan, some of whom were found fighting alongside their rival force, Rapid Support Force.
The circumstances under which these individuals entered the fray have not been properly established.
Analysts have pointed out claims that some South Sudanese who could not flee at the start of the conflict acquired arms for self-defense. Others were conscripted and could not escape in time. Over time they became members of the forces, either on the side of the Rapid Support Force (RSF) or the military.
Some argued that South Sudanese who were in the Sudanese armed forces returned in response to the call by the military and its leadership under General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan at the start of the conflict in 2023.
The civilians and those associated with political and military dissidents from South Sudan who were in Sudan slipped into the sides, inspired by a motive to acquire weapons, training, and a host.
“You cannot explain with evidence how these people we are now told to evacuate enter the fray in the Sudan. It is difficult. How they entered has not been established,” a senior South Sudanese diplomat with direct knowledge of the situation in Sudan told Sudan Tribune on July 17, 2024
He added, “I were in Khartoum when the conflict started and I was one of the officials who were sensitizing our people to pack and return home in the south, telling them home has never loss a taste of love and care, however the situation. It is where you have the ancestors. It is your route. Some accepted and they are here now, safely and peacefully integrating in the society despite challenges we are now facing together with them. I moved to Port Sudan and came here. Later I went to Renk and was part of the team facilitating transportation”.
South Sudan is one of the countries in the region which share direct borders with Sudan where conflict has been raging since April 2023, disrupting the flow of its oil and receiving an influx of Sudanese refugees and returnees. The spillover has caused a strain on local resources and put the country under severe economic distress, compounded by a spike in consumer prices due to high inflation.
(ST)