AFRICA ( Commonwealth Union) _ The ambassador of Uganda to Sudan stated yesterday that ongoing violent fighting between competing government military units makes it extremely challenging to securely remove Ugandans who are stranded within Sudan.
Ugandan nationals have been advised to continue sheltering in place in a special notification that was released by Dr. Rashid Yahya Ssemuddu and his embassy staff. The warning advises visitors to keep their distance as the embassy closely follows the ongoing crisis in Sudan and the war that started on Saturday, April 15, between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The ambassador claimed that despite efforts to evacuate Ugandans made by the government of Uganda through the embassy, the situation remained unstable and challenging as a result of the opposing forces’ failure to abide by a temporary ceasefire agreement.
In Khartoum City and the neighboring environs, at least 300 Ugandans are stranded. Following the brutal October 25, 2021 coup, in which the military overthrew a coalition of transitional civil-military forces, fighting is raging between the various military and paramilitary organizations that have taken control.
Since August 2019, the coalition had been in charge. It was created as a temporary alliance between the army and the leaders of a populist revolt that had sparked the military removal of longstanding dictator Omar al-Bashir in April 2019. Since then, the nation has remained unrest.
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of the Sudanese army, and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who is now in charge of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, are engaged in a full-fledged conflict that has already taken hundreds of lives. At the time of publication last night, sources claimed that combat had been particularly fierce in Khartoum’s northern regions. 120 workers, both in the formal and informal sectors, 116 students, 14 hospital personnel, 19 transport workers, and 6 visitors on brief stays in Khartoum are among the stranded Ugandans. The failure of the German government’s intention to evacuate 150 of its citizens was disclosed by Dr. Ssemuddu.
The latest message from the Sudanese government, delivered through its ministry of foreign affairs, continues to raise questions about the viability of an early exodus of foreign nationals. The ministry encouraged all foreigners and citizens of Sudan to stay indoors in a press release on Tuesday. Dr. Ssemuddu revealed that on Tuesday, they were able to relocate the 19 Muslim pilgrims from Uganda who were travelling to Mecca in Saudi Arabia from the bombed-out airport hotel Al Kabri Alasham.
The pilgrims are currently being protected in Omdurman’s Al-Ebdaa Hotel Apartments on Al-Fatihab Street, South Siraj Station, Khatourm, which are comparatively safer. Dr. Semuddu’s assertion was corroborated by Mr. Muhamad Shaawal, the director of Al-shwaal Hajj and Umrah Ltd, which organised the pilgrims’ voyage.
