Over 20,000 Kenyans back from South Sudan

As fears of violence in South Sudan spreading mounts, the Kenya government has started evacuating her citizens who were earlier stranded in the capital Juba. At least twenty buses will ferry Kenyans in the next few days back home. Over five hundred people have been killed in the fighting according to the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the UN.


In Summary
They left South Sudan “either by road or by air with most of them self-evacuating while the government evacuates those in the most sensitive areas.”

Kenyans in South Sudan can send an SMS to +254717865554 to communicate their whereabouts, condition and contacts to the ministry.

By LUCAS BARASA
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More than 20,000 Kenyans have returned to the country following fighting in South Sudan.

(READ: S. Sudan rivals to start ceasefire talks as fighting rages)

A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade said they left South Sudan “either by road or by air with most of them self-evacuating while the government evacuates those in the most sensitive areas.”

The Kenyan government has also been evacuated Kenyans who want to return home. (VIDEO: Kenyans rescued from South Sudan)

Under the Emergency Evacuation program which began on December 21, 2013, the government has managed to bring home an estimated 3,000 evacuees.

DIRECT HOTLINE

“The Kenyan Embassy in Juba has been extremely active in this operation. In addition to its efforts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade set up a South Sudan Crisis Response Team in the Nairobi headquarters manned by officers from the ministry and security agencies,” the statement read.

A direct hotline +25420310325 is also available to report missing persons and the ministry has teamed up with Ushahidi to set up an SMS-to-Internet crowdsourcing program.

Kenyans in South Sudan can send an SMS to +254717865554 to communicate their whereabouts, condition and contacts to the ministry.

“The information collected has been valuable to the Juba embassy and keeping decision makers informed of the condition of Kenyans in distress in South Sudan,” the statement read.