A Bangladeshi peacekeeper deployed by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan stand guard as others set up a camp nearby in the Likuangole Payam region of the Jonglei State. Photo/ AFP
NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 25 – The government has established a South Sudan Crisis Management Centre at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in addition to chartering two Kenya Airways flights to evacuate Kenyans who are still stranded in Juba.
The ministry through a statement posted on social networks requested those with relevant information on Kenyans who might still be stuck to call +254 203 103 25.
This follows two weeks of fighting in South Sudan that has left thousands dead, among them two Kenyans, and a huge humanitarian crisis.
Aid workers have expressed concern over the difficulties of giving assistance to those most in need including the injured, children and women.
“Please share: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade has established a South Sudan Crisis Management Centre in its Headquarters,” read the statement.
KQ also sent a statement to newsrooms saying it had partnered with the government in the rescue mission.
The airline said that the flights would leave South Sudan to Nairobi on Boxing Day but had not been indicated their scheduled times.
The government had earlier said that it would charter planes on behalf of the Kenyans who are still stranded, as the conflict in South Sudan entered its second week.
“This flight is NOT open for sale and is strictly a charter in order to evacuate Kenyans still in Juba,” clarified the statement.
The government had also said that there were Kenyans who were still holed up at the United Nations headquarters in Bor, which had been seized by rebels.
But the South Sudanese government now says that it recaptured the town on Tuesday evening.
Pressure has been mounting on the country’s leadership to resolve the crisis, which has also left thousands displaced.
According to various media outlets, South Sudan President Salva Kiir has indicated that he is willing to sit down with the former Vice President Riek Machar to bring the blood shed to an end as long as there are no pre-conditions to the dialogue.
Machar has on the other hand reportedly maintained that he will not dialogue with Kiir until 11 senior members of the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement are released from prison.
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