Ethiopian Foreign Affiars Minister, Demeke Mokonen, And South Sudan Acting Foreign Affairs Minister Deng Dau - Courtesy

South Sudan and Ethiopian Foreign Affairs Ministries have discussed the situation of South Sudanese students trapped in the conflict-torn Amhara region.

Deng Dau told Eye Radio from Addis Ababa that he contacted his Ethiopian counterpart Demeke Mekonnen who also doubles as Deputy Prime Minister of Ethiopia over the plight of the students on Thursday, August 10.

He says the Ethiopian Foreign Affairs Minister has assured him of the safety of students.

The acting Minister’s statement comes two days after dozens of South Sudanese students in Gondar and Bahir Dar called for their urgent evacuation from the Amhara region as fighting intensified between a militia group and Ethiopia’s Federal Army.

The students fighting confined them to the University premises and they had no access to food.

Diplomat Dau said his Ethiopia counterpart assured him that the Ethiopian government is taking care of students in Gondar and Bahir Dar Universities.

And that the situation in the Amhara region has stabilized, and normalcy is returning to the region.

“This morning I contacted the foreign ministry of Ethiopia. I have talked to the state minister of foreign affairs on the situation of the South Sudanese student in Bahir Dar and Gondar,” said Deng Dau.

“He [minister of foreign affairs] assured me about the situation, the situation has stabilized,” he said.

‘The current situation of security in that state is resuming normal now, and the students, the first thing is for them to remain inside the universities, but the situation has stabilized.”

“We have also discussed if there is any situation that the government of South Sudan want to know about the situation so that the student can rescue.”

“They assured me that the government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia are taking care of all the citizens and the students of South Sudan in Gondar and Bahir Dar,”

“So far, there’s nothing that alarms the evacuation, if there is such kind of thing the government of Ethiopia will help us to evacuate them but there is no alarm now.”

On Wednesday, the Ethiopian Federal Government said it defeated the militia groups and drove them out of the two main cities in the Amhara region.