By Yiep Joseph
Government has appealed to the international community and the United Nations for assistance in evacuating citizens who are trapped in the conflict zone in Sudan.
Following the recapture of Madani from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), videos emerged on social media depicting members of the Sudan Army Forces (SAF) and their allied militia torturing, slaughtering, beheading, and, in some cases, shooting South Sudanese citizens and other foreigners.
The disturbing images have gone viral, provoking widespread outrage and condemnation in most parts of South Sudan.
Both the Sudanese and South Sudanese governments are engaging in diplomatic efforts to address the situation, including the formation of a committee to investigate the incidents and to ensure the protection of Sudanese citizens in South Sudan.
As of now, neither the South Sudanese nor the Sudanese government has disclosed the specific number of South Sudanese who have been killed in Madani, Al Gezira State, Sudan.
In light of growing concerns for the safety of South Sudanese trapped in war-torn Sudan, Interior Minister Angelina Teny has called for coordinated efforts to repatriate those affected.
The Minister made this statement on Friday, following a series of protests by citizens.
Minister Teny emphasized that the repatriation of South Sudanese citizens trapped in the conflict zone requires assistance from the international community as well as cooperation from the parties involved in the conflict in Sudan.
“It is a request that our government has to put that those South Sudanese who are trapped in the war zone in Sudan if there are ways, they can be repatriated,” Teny said.
“So this (repatriation of South Sudanese) would have to be done in collaboration and coordination with the international agencies, humanitarian agencies, as well as the government and all the fighting factions in Sudan,” she said.
She added that besides other plans to protect South Sudanese in conflict-affected Sudan, the government continues to coordinate with other partners in the evacuation process.
“One of the things we are doing, of course, is usual evacuation, and this cannot be done by us as the government; this only has to be done together with the UN, she said.
The minister expressed South Sudan’s commitment to ensuring protection for her citizens around the world as well as maintaining good relations.
In a separate call, the Citizens Call-Emergency Response Rehabilitation Initiative has called on the government of South Sudan and the UN agencies to immediately evacuate dozens of civilians trapped in the conflict-hit Sudan.
At least 27 South Sudanese nationals were reportedly killed between January 11 and January 15 in Sudan’s Al Jazirah by militias allied with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
In a statement, President Salva Kiir called for calm among citizens and urged the Sudanese government and conflicting parties to take responsibility for protecting civilians trapped in war zones.
Kiir’s statement comes as many South Sudanese protest the killings of their fellow citizens by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in Madani, Al Gezira State, Sudan.
Also, in response to the killing of South Sudanese, Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council (TSC) leader and commander-in-chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, formed a committee to investigate the killing of civilians.
In a statement extended to the media, the Sudanese Armed Forces press desk said al-Burhan had formed a committee to investigate the incidents, with findings expected within a week.