Kenya Closes Diplomatic Mission In Sudan As War Continues

Kenya has announced the closure of its mission in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital following reports that armed groups have turned diplomatic officials into targets.

Principal Secretary of Foreign Affairs Korir Sing’oei made the announcement on Sunday saying Kenya had remained open to embark on the evacuation of any Kenyan stranded in the war-torn country.

“We continue to receive disturbing news of the targeting of diplomatic officials by armed groups in Khartoum.”

“Kenya Mission in Khartoum which had remained open to facilitate the evacuation of any Kenyans still in the country is now closed,” Sing’oei in a tweet.

The East African country had rescued at least 900 people by the beginning of May, as the fighting between Sudan’s generals went on.

Sudan’s conflict has continued for a seventh week where fighting has propelled the nation into an all-out war since fighting between warring generals from the Sudanese army and its rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) broke out on April 15.

The country has plunged into a humanitarian crisis, with more than 1,800 people killed and at least 1.6 million displaced within the country or across its borders, the United Nations has said, with many fleeing to Egypt, Chad and South Sudan.

READ ALSO: Sudan Army Suspends Truce Talks With Paramilitary Groups

The war is dragging for too long, and all effort to negotiate a seize fire has proven abortive.

The army took the decision “because the rebels have never implemented a single one of the provisions of a short-term ceasefire which required their withdrawal from hospitals and residential buildings, and have repeatedly violated the truce”, the Sudanese official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

READ ALSO: Border Regions In South Sudan Needs Better Governance

US and Saudi mediators said late Monday that the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had agreed to extend by five days a humanitarian truce they had frequently violated over the previous week.

Trending video of the day;

Photo Credit: Getty