Opposition party urges government to evacuate citizens caught in Khartoum violence

JUBA, APRIL 25, 2023 (SUDANS POST) – South Sudan’s opposition National Movement for Change (SSNMC) is calling on the unity government in Juba to evacuate citizens who have been caught in the ongoing fighting in the Sudanese capita, Khartoum.

Fighting broke out in Sudan last week after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) which was elevated from Janjaweed by former president Omar al Bashir in 2013 attacked several government and army positions in the capital Khartoum and other important towns.

The fighting – despite immediate calls from regional and international communities – entered its second week on Saturday with no sign of end to fighting, despite an agreement between the warring sides to a new three-day ceasefire starting midnight yesterday.

The conflict – which is very deadly in nature – has resulted in foreign governments conducting evacuation missions for their citizens who have been stuck in the capital Khartoum and other parts of what is now a restive country.

South Sudan government despite the international evacuation of citizens caught in fire said that it has no plans to evacuate its citizens in Khartoum saying the South Sudanese population in Sudan is “too big to be evacuated.”

But in a statement yesterday, the South Sudan National Movement for Change decried the government position, stating that it is a responsibility of the government to make sure that lives of South Sudanese citizens are protected.

“While very many concerned countries across the world have exerted immense and endless efforts to evacuate their citizens from ravaged Sudanese Capital, Khartoum, it is with regrets to note that South Sudan Government remains baffled with the daring situation, with the Acting Foreign Minister expressing irresponsible statements like ‘population too big to be evacuated’ and remaining reluctant despite the dire plight of its trapped citizens in Khartoum, Sudan,” the statement reads in part.

“The leadership of South Sudan National Movement for Change-SSNMC is disturbed by an uncertain and risky situation of trapped South Sudanese Citizens in Khartoum and, therefore asks   the Government to urgently evacuate its citizens for safety.

“The government needs no reminder that the responsibility to secure the safety of citizens and delivering necessary humanitarian needs is not negotiable. We ask the government to respond immediately to the plight of its trapped citizens in Khartoum,” the statement signed by member of parliament and SSNMC spokesman Agok Arialbek Achiek added.