The government of Uganda claims to be working on arrangements to repatriate more than 300 students, employees, and travelers from Sudan’s upheaval, many of whom have been seeking sanctuary since conflict broke out on Saturday.
116 students, 120 laborers, 14 working in hospitals, and six on brief trips are among the Ugandans who are known to be present in Sudan; another 19 people were passing through Sudan on their way to Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia as part of a Ramadan pilgrimage when the conflict started.
Nkunyingi Muwada, a lawmaker from Uganda, claimed he has received calls from Sudanese individuals and parents reporting that their children are stranded in shell-damaged locations.
“A number of these Ugandan nationals are trapped in Sudan airports,” he said. “We have information from the distress calls we have received that the fighting in Sudan spread to various regions of Sudan and a number of our nationals who are …stranded in different parts of [the country].”
Muwada wants the government to start taking emergency action, such as setting up substitute shelters for trapped Ugandans.
Rashid Yahya Ssemuddu, the ambassador of Uganda to Sudan, stated that “despite the violence taking place right in the midst of [the city], we have been monitoring the situation with all of our countrymen that are here. So far, the Ugandans in Khartoum are secure.
According to him, the passengers who were stranded at the capital’s major airport for the Sudan have since been moved to secure locations pending evacuation.
“We are in contact with them and also in contact with the airline which was supposed to take them to Jeddah,” said Ssemuddu. “They were moved to a safe place in one of the hotels in Khartoum, and the airline gave us assurances that they will cater for everything for the time they will be in the hotel as they are waiting for the situation to calm down and they open the airport.”
John Mulimba, Uganda’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs, stated that the government is collaborating with a number of organisations, including the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), to offer its residents all the help they require, including assistance with potential evacuations.
“The government,” he said, “has is working with other regional and international partners to monitor the situation and urges return to constructive dialogue and recommit to the principles of the transition process as the only way to lead to national reconciliation and peace.”
Around 200 people are said to have died and 1,800 have been injured as a result of clashes that began on Saturday between the military of Sudan and its primary paramilitary organisation.
Army Gen. Shams El Din Kabbashi, a member of Sudan’s ruling military council, stated on al Arabiya TV that the cease-fire would not last longer than the 24 hours that had been agreed upon by the warring commanders of Sudan.