Should the current situation in Khartoum worsen and turn into a humanitarian crisis, the Kenyan government plans to evacuate roughly 3,000 of its residents who are either already residing in Sudan or are just visiting.
Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs has established a multi-agency technical team, which is currently keeping an eye on the situation and is ready to support Kenyans living in Sudan by providing humanitarian aid and, if necessary, emergency evacuation.
As the government develops a plan to bring them back home, Kenya’s diaspora in Sudan and their relatives in Kenya are encouraged to contact the ministry in case of emergencies by calling the provided emergency lines (+24 9900194854/ +2540114757002), according to Roseline Njogu, principal secretary for the state department of diaspora affairs in Kenya.
At a news conference on Monday, Ms. Njogu declared, “We are committed to making sure that all Kenyans are safely rescued and brought home should the situation warrant it.”
The country’s army and paramilitary forces have been engaged in battles for domination in major cities over the past two days, despite calls from numerous regional leaders for the warring factions to settle their differences amicably.
As the fighting continues, at least 100 people have died and untold amounts of property have been damaged. Kenya’s government is asking its citizens to remain staying home while they monitor the situation because there have not yet been any reports of Kenyan casualties. The closing of the Khartoum International Airport and the suspension of flights by many airlines mean that the evacuation may no longer be feasible.
The last resort will be to evacuate the population, while Kenya is pursuing alternative avenues to help the warring factions in Sudan to a peaceful settlement.
Salva Kiir of South Sudan, Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti, and William Ruto, the president of Kenya, will be among the three members of the high-level delegation in Khartoum to mediate between the two warring groups.
After a heads of state and government emergency meeting on Monday, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (Igad) dispatched that the team it had chosen would meet with the two leaders “as soon as possible.”