South Sudan: we evacuate

(BRUSSELS2) A British Royal Air Force C17 aircraft today evacuated 182 passengers (British, Commonwealth and EU) from Juba in South Sudan, quickly boarded and directed to Entebbe in Uganda. The flight - or rather the landing was quite hectic, as a statement from the British Ministry indicates.
Requisitioned by the Foreign Office (FCO), the military plane had taken off at night (after 3 a.m. from RAF base Brize Norton. But on arrival, after a 9-hour flight, on the airport in the South Sudanese capital Juba, the pilot was surprised. The runway was cluttered with a civil airliner, a Boeing 737 immobilized at 2/3 of the runway, the nose gear collapsed. The C-17 was however able to land, without damage, after a so-called "precision landing". As the commander of 99 Squadron, Commander Stuart Lindsell, recounted, " We practice short landings in formation. But arriving on a runway with a crashed plane taking up a large part of it really forces the mind to focus a little more than you would normally expect. The C17 commander and his crew had one of the toughest days for the entire squadron in its inception 12 years ago. »
Evacuation order in London and Berlin
After the violence (which, at the very least, 500 people and injured nearly 800 in Juba, including many civilians”, according to the Quai d'Orsay) and the curfew, several countries such as Germany or the United Kingdom have ordered their nationals to leave the country. A second flight has also been scheduled by the British. Nationals are requested to arrive at the airport with as little luggage as possible (or even without any luggage). On the French side, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has " recommended " to nationals - around sixty currently - " take available flights to temporarily leave South Sudan” (some apparently took the flights of "our British friends").
No French operation
Contacted by B2, the General Staff of the armies (French) denies certain information published in the press, such as planning an operation to evacuate nationals, " not having received a request to that effect from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ". And as a senior French official pointed out, passing through Brussels, “We are already busy elsewhere to intervene in South Sudan as well. You do not belive it ". And add " although some issues are related. There are certain common elements in the Central African Republic and South Sudan. As there are elements of Boko Haram. »
NB: the European Union had deployed a small consultancy and expertise mission for air safety at the airport (EUAVSEC South Sudan) at Juba airport. The decision to close this mission had already been taken before the events, for different reasons. Read : we are closing
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