60 African Residents Return Home by Hanbit Unit Deployment Flight

[Asia Economy Reporter Yang Nak-gyu] Sixty Korean residents in Africa returned home by boarding the deployment flight of the Hanbit Unit stationed in South Sudan.

According to the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 22nd, the chartered plane carrying the 12th rotation of the Hanbit Unit heading to South Sudan stopped over in Ethiopia, the transit country, and arrived at Incheon International Airport at around 7:40 PM the previous day with 60 Korean residents from Africa on board.

The number of Korean residents by country is 10 from Ethiopia, 36 from Ghana, 13 from Kenya, and 1 from Sudan, totaling 60. The passengers gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and boarded the chartered plane.

The chartered plane carried military medical personnel (1 military doctor and 1 nursing officer) and support staff from the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The military medical team checked the passengers for fever before boarding the plane.

A Ministry of National Defense official explained, "Due to the national lockdown caused by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), Korean residents stranded in Africa were able to safely return home thanks to the Hanbit Unit rotation."

Earlier, in March, the Ministry of National Defense had recalled the 11th rotation to Korea, leaving only essential personnel to carry out missions, and the 12th rotation of the Hanbit Unit departed by chartered plane on the 18th.