Ugandans Still Trapped In South Sudan

A technical team in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will meet Friday to devise means of how to evacuate the remaining Ugandans currently stuck in the South Sudanese state of Jonglei.

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Fred Opolot, the Foreign Affairs spokesperson, said that at least 2000 Ugandans are reported to be camped at the United Nations South Sudan Mission (UNAMISS).

Opolot states that the meeting to be chaired by the State Minister for Foreign Affairs Okello Oryem is a result of the South Sudan government led by Salva Kiir regaining the capital Bor from the rebel group.

The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) is expected to lead and carry out the evacuation process. However the Foreign Affairs spokesperson says this will only be done after consultations with the Salva Kiir government to establish their capacity to independently carry out the evacuations without support from the UPDF.

On Tuesday President Kiir reported that his forces had taken over Bor and they were in the process of clearing rebel forces loyal to his former deputy Riek Machar. Bor, located north of Juba, had been one of the major successes for the rebels.

Meanwhile President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya the current chairman of the East African Community and IGAD is in Juba together with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn to urge President Kiir and Machar to hold peace talks.

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