Somalia to evacuate citizens from Sudan as war intensifies

MOGADISHU - Somalia plans to evacuate her citizens from the war-torn Khartoum, the capital of Sudan which has been the epicenter of fighting between the Rapid Support Forces [RSF] and the Sudanese army for the last three days over the proposed integration of the paramilitary wing to the military.

As of Tuesday, over 190 people mainly civilians had been killed and thousands injured even as the army resorted to airstrikes against RSF. Both parties blamed each other for the skirmishes with RSF denying the targeting of diplomats' residential homes in Khartoum while claiming to have seized strategic areas.

Mohamed Sheikh Isak, the Somali ambassador to Sudan, told VOA on Monday that the country would consider moving her nationals to neighboring countries such as Ethiopia and South Sudan on buses from Khartoum in case there are planes in the Sudanese capital whose safety is now compromised.

“We are discussing, in case there is an evacuation, how they could be moved out of this country,” Mohamed Sheikh Isak, the Somali ambassador to Sudan, told VOA on Monday.

“There are no planes. There is a plan we are working on which is, if we cannot evacuate them through the airports, to rent buses and move them out of the city, and take them to the neighboring countries in South Sudan and Ethiopia.”

Somali students in Sudan expressed concerns over the ongoing fighting in Khartoum and called for immediate evacuation before the situation worsens. Hayat Aden, a student at Khartoum’s International University of Africa, said gunfire in the city is terrifying the residents.

“The gunfire is ongoing now...We, the Somali students appeal to the Somali government to assist us immediately, in returning us to our country. We can’t continue to stay like this,” said Aden.

General Mohamed Daglo, the commander of RSF and Vice President of the Transitional Sovereign Council accused General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan of "targeting civilians" in his bombing within the capital. According to him, RSF was only targeting military bases and other strategic places within the town.

Sudan has been struggling with instability for the last couple of years after the ouster of Omar al-Bashir, the de facto leader who was instrumental in the formation of the RSF, formerly known as Janjaweed. The paramilitary wing was responsible for atrocities in the Darfur region of Somalia.

GAROWE ONLINE