The UPDF on Friday evacuated 105 people from Juba, 88 of who are Ugandans.
Two
Ugandans were critically injured and were rescued by Chief of Defence
Forces Katumba Wamala who visited Juba in a fixed-wing aircraft, while
103 were evacuated by a Uganda Air Cargo aircraft under the ministry of
Defence.
Capt
Anthony Tabaro Kiconco, the acting UPDF Air force spokesperson, said:
“Fifteen of the rescued people were Chinese and 88 Ugandans, 16 of whom
are children; 95 per cent of the evacuated people are women…”
He
said they brought the Chinese along since they were near their embassy
so “there is no way we would leave them behind”. He said the evacuated
Ugandans would be taken to Central Police Station in Kampala from where
they will find their way back home as the army continues the evacuation
exercise.
Ms
Jane Namalwa, who works at the customs unit in Juba, said men in
uniform stormed their home at night and called out names of people and
killed them instantly. She said she was saved because she had a baby. Ms
Namalwa said they have Ugandan leadership in South Sudan who helped in
mobilizing them and the embassy which kept contacting Ugandans they
knew.
“We
have left over 10,000 Ugandans stranded at the embassy and some were
not registered and have no documents which is making it hard for them to
be evacuated,” she said.
Uganda
sent soldiers to South Sudan following the week-long fighting between
the government army and mutineers loyal to sacked vice president Riek
Machar.
Military
sources said the government sent soldiers from the elite presidential
guard with fighter planes. The sources said the Ugandan soldiers first
secured Juba Airport before starting the evacuations. “Uganda has
deployed troops in Juba to facilitate the evacuation mission of stranded
Ugandans and Kenyans, most of who are injured,” UPDF spokesperson Paddy
Ankunda said. He said the deployment of UPDF soldiers at Juba Airport
was authorised by the South Sudan government.
However, he denied that the soldiers had been deployed to stop advancing mutinying forces loyal to Machar.