Prime News Ghana

74 Ghanaians evacuated from Sudan arrive in Accra

By Vincent Ashitey
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The 74 Ghanaian nationals evacuated from the conflict in Sudan arrived in Accra on Tuesday.

The evacuees arrived at the Kotoka International Airport aboard an Ethiopian Airline flight and were welcomed by Mr Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration.

The Ghanaian nationals, who were students, had successfully crossed the Sudan-Ethiopia border with the assistance of officials of the Ghana Embassy in Ethiopia.

Briefing the press after their arrival, Mr Ampratwum-Sarpong said the government was giving every evacuee an amount of GHc500 for transportation from Accra to their various destinations.

“We have informed them that the government is not going to take responsibility when they decide to return to Sudan because the government did not sponsor their education in Sudan,” he said.

The deputy minister disclosed that a Ghanaian national decided not to return to Ghana after he was airlifted from Sudan to Addis Ababa.

Two other nationals who were working for a mining company along the border of Sudan and Egypt were already in Ghana with the assistance of the company.

Another batch of four footballers was in Egypt after crossing the Egyptian border> Arrangements are being made to bring them safely to Ghana.

Mr Ampratwum-Sarpong said the government had put together a team of clinical psychologists to assess the evacuees and help them, as well as do a follow-up in cases of post-traumatic syndrome.

He would ensure that Ghanaian citizens are evacuated from Sudan, where the regular army and the paramilitary force are engaged in a battle for supremacy and control over the country.

“Our commitment is to get our nationals out of the situation and into a state where there will be less risk.
“Every Ghanaian that is on our records or came to our attention was safe,” he said.

He commended Ghana’s Missions in Egypt and Ethiopia for helping facilitate the evacuation of the Ghanaian nationals in the strife-torn north-eastern African country.

Mr Abdul Aziz Abdul Karim, leader of Ghanaian students in Sudan, commended the swift collaboration between Ghana’s missions in Egypt and Ethiopia for their safe evacuation to Ghana.