Kenya evacuates 29 students from Sudan as fighting persists in Khartoum

Smoke is seen rising from a neighborhood in Khartoum on Saturday, April 15, 2023. Kenya has initiated the process of evacuating its citizens from Sudan . [AP]

Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua says 29 Kenyan students have been airlifted from Sudan as fighting continues to escalate in the country's capital, Khartoum.

In a statement dated Monday, April 24, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed that more than 400 Kenyans were waiting to be evacuated.

"We have already facilitated 29 Kenyan students to cross the border to Ethiopia. They are on their way to Gondar, where they will fly to Addis Ababa, then to Nairobi," read part of the statement.

CS Alfred Mutua thanked neighboring countries, including South Sudan, Ethiopia, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, for collaborating to make the evacuation mission possible.

He stated that a "larger group of Kenyans" would be transported on two aircraft from Port Sudan to Jeddah, and from there, they would travel to Nairobi on Kenya Airways.

He estimated that 300-400 Kenyans would be evacuated using this method.

A power struggle between the regular army and a powerful paramilitary force has led to violence across Sudan for over a week, with heavy bombardment in the capital resulting in hundreds killed and thousands more injured.

The near-constant shooting and bombing in Khartoum and elsewhere has cut electricity and safe access to food and water for much of the population.

Several ceasefires that had seemingly been agreed by both sides were ignored, including a three-day pause to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which started on Friday.

The BBC reported the fighting has killed more than 400 people and injured thousands. But the death toll is believed to be much higher as people are struggling to get healthcare, as most of the city's hospitals have been forced to close by the fighting.

Along with Khartoum, the western region of Darfur, where the RSF first emerged, has also been badly affected by the fighting.

The UN has warned that up to 20,000 people - mostly women and children - have fled Sudan to seek safety in Chad, across the border from Darfur.

The US and UK have already flown diplomats out of the country, while other countries such as France, Germany, Italy, and Spain have also been evacuating their citizens.

On Sunday, several other countries, including Canada and Turkey, began conducting evacuation operations.