JUBA…..South Sudan continues with its call for the cessation of hostilities in Sudan amidst the ongoing fighting between the national army and Rapid Support Forces.
In the face of the flying bullets, President Salva Kiir said the South Sudanese Embassy in Khartoum will continue with normal operations even as other countries continue to evacuate their diplomats amidst ongoing fighting.
War broke out in Sudan on April 15 as the RSF, which is pushing for the establishment of a civilian-led government.
Sudan is currently under military rule led by army general Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman al-Burhan, who is the chair of the Sovereign Council headed by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
South Sudan, is a peace guarantor in Sudan’s negotiated government.
The decision was taken at a high-level security meeting chaired by the president.
The National Security Council meeting was also attended by all five vice presidents and senior government officials.
The meeting delved heavily into the ongoing security situation in Sudan, even as thousands of South Sudanese started trooping into the country through the shared borders with Sudan.
During the meeting, Kiir, who is also the chairman of the IGAD head of state delegation charged with initiating talks with the warring parties in Sudan, called for the immediate cessation of hostilities.
Kiir further urged the protagonists to open humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to access humanitarian assistance.
Benjamin Marial, the minister for presidential affairs, said South Sudan called in humanitarian agencies to assist those affected by the crisis in Sudan and also directed its Embassy in Khartoum to remain open and continue to discharge its duties during this time of crisis to maintain relations between the two countries.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that South Sudan has opened its airspace to countries evacuating their nationals from Sudan.
Kenya has evacuated 24 of its citizens so far from Sudan. Some people, however, are still stuck in Sudan with nowhere to.
“The biggest problem was that we spent all of our money on transportation to flee,” he said, adding there is no more money left to complete his escape.
“Now where we are, we can’t get money, as we don’t have any kind of services that allow us to receive money from our family to buy tickets and escape the war safely,” a Kenyan student, Abraham Isak, told the BBC that he was stranded in Qandarif town, which borders Ethiopia, without anyway of accessing money.
The evacuees arrived in South Sudan yesterday through the northern border at Palouch Airport in Upper Nile State, according to the ministry.
The US government is working to facilitate citizens leaving Sudan.
Washington said that some American citizens have begun to arrive in Port Sudan, in the southeast of the country, where they are being helped to get out of the country.
“While the lull in fighting has allowed the diplomatic missions to evacuate their staff and nationals, it has also allowed hundreds of Sudanese to relocate to nearby regions,” added South Sudan’s Ministry of foreign affairs.
The ministry said that plans are in place to have South Sudanese stuck in Sudan safely brought back to the country.
“On the situation of South Sudanese, the government is doing everything within its power to receive South Sudanese citizens who are returning to their country,” the statement read.
The South Sudanese embassy in Khartoum, according to the Ministry, won’t be shut down, but the non-essential staff will be evacuated.
At the same time, the government formed a committee to investigate the recent border clashes between the regular forces and some elements along the borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo.
The committee is made up of the Chief of Staff of the South Sudan Defense Forces, Santino Deng Wol, and Inspector General of Police Majak Akieg, among other top security organs.
It will investigate the recent border clashes between the organized forces deployed in Western Equatoria State and some elements along the border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic.
The decision was reached in a National Security Council meeting that discussed the crisis in Sudan and recent border clashes between the South Sudan Defense Forces and elements along the border with Congo and the Central African Republic.
Source: City Review SS ©
