The government has confirmed that at least 208 Ugandans who were on Sunday evacuated from Sudan due to the ongoing conflict will touch ground today.
Ofwono Opondo, the Executive Director of Uganda Media Center, says their flight was delayed because the first airport they landed at the Khartoum border with Ethiopia had a narrow runway, prompting the group to drive another 900 kilometers to Baidan airport in northern Ethiopia where they are airlifted by a chartered Uganda Airlines Airbus to Entebbe International Airport.
The Ugandan government, on the directive of President Yoweri Museveni, had ordered the evacuation of Ugandans from Sudan, starting from the conflict-ridden Khartoum region.
Defense attaché Brigadier General Fred Karara, and other officials mobilized Ugandans through telephone and WhatsApp groups.
The majority of the evacuated Ugandans were studying at the University of Africa, while a few were working in Sudan.
The embassy of Uganda in Sudan had mobilized over 300 Ugandans, but more than 90 of them returned to their area of residence when fighting broke out again. Opondo expressed hope that they are now using alternative means, such as the United Nations, to return to Uganda.