News24.com | 20 South Africans return home after fleeing conflict-torn Sudan

Ezzat Williams, along with 20 other South Africans return home after fleeing Sudan

• Twenty South Africans, who were stranded on a boat in Egypt for days, returned home on Thursday afternoon. 
• The group fled conflict-ridden Sudan.
• Egyptian authorities gave the group clearance to return back to Cape Town earlier this week. 

Excited family members of the last group of 20 South Africans, who landed at Cape Town International Airport on Thursday afternoon after fleeing conflict-torn Sudan, lined the arrivals section eagerly waiting for their loved ones to disembark.

On Monday, the group contacted Gift of the Givers, pleading for help after they had been waiting on a boat in Egypt for three days to get clearance to catch a flight home from Cairo.

They received a release order late on Monday night and departed for Cairo on Wednesday afternoon to take a flight in the early hours of Thursday to Addis Ababa and onwards to Cape Town via Ethiopian Airlines.

Mothers along with their children held up posters welcoming their loved ones back home.

READ | More than 100 000 refugees flee Sudan amid intense fighting

Speaking to News24 after landing, Ezzat Williams said it was a difficult time for him. 

"It's great to be back," he said, embracing his wife. "It's been a heck of a journey." 

Ali Sablay from Gift of the Givers said the last two weeks have been challenging. 

"We are grateful that they are out of harm's way and can return to their families," he added. 

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation urgently intervened to get the required clearances. The group was prevented from disembarking from the boat because clearances were required. 

Two others who were with the group did not fly to Cape Town and went elsewhere.

On Sunday, the department welcomed the 53 evacuees home from Sudan, declaring it the final group of South Africans who were trapped in the conflict-torn country.

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