"It started very quickly": repatriated from Sudan, the journey of Ivorians to flee the war

2023-05-06T21:45:45.459Z

Highlights: 45 Ivorian nationals who lived in Sudan including children, arrived Friday, May 5 by a commercial flight on Ivorian soil. They had to cross Sudan by road until they reached Egypt. Two Ivorians wished to stay in Egypt, the other 45 will spend three days at the INJS of Marcory. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kandia Camara, regrets the multiplication in recent weeks of these repatriation operations: "I hope that this will be the last repatriation organized by our country"

Welcomed by the Ivorian Minister of Foreign Affairs Kandia Camara, 45 Ivorian nationals who lived in Sudan including children, arrived Friday, May 5 by a commercial flight on...

"It started very quickly": repatriated from Sudan, the journey of Ivorians to flee the war

Audio 01:22

Ivorians repatriated from Sudan are received by Ivorian Foreign Minister Kandia Camara (middle right) upon their arrival at Felix Houphouet Boigny International Airport, near Abidjan, May 5, 2023. © Issouf Sanogo / AFP

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

Welcomed by Ivorian Foreign Minister Kandia Camara, 45 Ivorian nationals who lived in Sudan including children, arrived Friday, May 5 by a commercial flight on Ivorian soil after making a request for repatriation. However, they had to cross Sudan by road until they reached Egypt.

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With our correspondent in Abidjan, François Hume-Ferkatadji

The Ethiopian Airlines plane landed around 13:50 p.m. Côte d'Ivoire's ambassador to Egypt and Sudan, Timothée Ezoua, who coordinated the repatriation operation, was the first to descend the steps to greet Minister Kandia Camara on the tarmac.

He is closely followed by the representative of Ivorians in Sudan, Koffi Ouattarra Soulé. He recounts the bus ride from Khartoum on April 23 to Cairo: "We were forced to do this because the airport was closed and it is not going well in the country so we had to leave the country by land, so that we could save our lives. We were scared

Keïta Mohamed carries a small suitcase, a kufi on his head and a large beige kami. A student at the International University of Africa in Khartoum, he remembers the day the civil war began, on April 15. I think that on Saturday, April 15, there were already air strikes, we were really afraid.

Two Ivorians wished to stay in Egypt, the other 45 will spend three days at the INJS of Marcory, where they will carry out administrative procedures before joining their families. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kandia Camara, regrets the multiplication in recent weeks of these repatriation operations: "I hope that this will be the last repatriation organized by our country. The good news is that, so far, despite the extremely difficult situation in Sudan, we have no Ivorian victims.

► READ ALSO: Sudan: fighting continues before "pre-negotiations" talks in Saudi Arabia

"It started very quickly": repatriated from Sudan, the journey of Ivorians to flee the war

"It started very quickly": repatriated from Sudan, the journey of Ivorians to flee the war

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