Sunday April 30, 2023
Mogadishu (HOL) - The second group of 123 Somali citizens evacuated from Sudan arrived in Mogadishu and Garowe on Sunday, as dozens of other compatriots stranded in Sudan pleaded for immediate evacuation.
The new arrivals mainly consisted of students, with 78 of them landing at Mogadishu's Aden Adde International Airport, while the remaining 45 were taken to Garowe, the administrative capital of the Puntland regional state.
The evacuated citizens went on a government-facilitated land trip to Ethiopia and were picked up from Addis Ababa. Deputy Prime Minister Salah Ahmed Jama, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Minister of Education welcomed the 78 people at the Mogadishu airport. Meanwhile, Puntland officials welcomed the other citizens who landed in Garowe.
Last week, the Somali government began evacuating citizens stranded in Sudan due to the ongoing conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
The first group of 18 Somali citizens arrived at Mogadishu's Aden Adde Airport on Wednesday after being evacuated from Buluja, near Sudan's border with South Sudan.
Efforts are underway to repatriate the remaining Somali nationals stranded in Sudan, where the fighting may trigger further displacement both within and outside the country.
The Somali Disaster Management Agency (SODMA) recently launched hotlines for Somalis stranded in Sudan. The 24-hour hotlines will help Somalis report their locations to ease the evacuation process.