(ECNS) -- More than 70 Chinese nationals landed safely at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, after leaving Juba, the capital of South Sudan, by air on Tuesday night, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Most of the Chinese passengers were employees of Chinese-funded companies in South Sudan, including the Power Construction Corporation of China, the China Jiangsu International Economic and Technical Cooperation Group, ZTE Corporation, the China National Petroleum Corporation, and Shandong Hi-Speed Group.
Juba has witnessed continuous armed conflicts in recent days. Wang Cun, of the South Sudan representative office of the Power Construction Corporation of China, said Juba was basically calm on Tuesday and that many foreigners sought to leave the country.
After fighting broke out, the Chinese embassy in South Sudan contacted the local Chinese chamber of commerce and Chinese companies, with plans to coordinate the evacuation of employees from Juba. With assistance from various parties, the embassy set up about nine temporary rally points to facilitate the evacuation.
South Sudanese President Salva Kiir's troops had been engaged in fierce fighting with soldiers loyal to his rival Vice President Riek Machar in Juba since July 8, leaving at least 272 people dead. The Juba International Airport was temporarily closed due to the fighting.
On Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said that China was deeply concerned about the escalating situation in South Sudan after Sunday's attack in Juba, in which two Chinese peacekeepers were killed and five Chinese were injured.
On Monday evening, Kiir and Machar ordered their respective troops to observe a ceasefire.
