AU chiefs condemn treatment of Africans fleeing Ukraine

Top officials of the African Union have condemned reports that citizens of African countries have been denied from leaving war–torn Ukraine.

Current chair of the AU and Senegalese President Macky Sall and chairperson of the AU Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat on Monday said they are closely following developments in the European nation.

The officials in a statement said they "are particularly disturbed by reports that African citizens on the Ukrainian side of the border are being refused the right to cross the border to safety".

The officials condemned the "ill-treatment" of African citizens by Ukraine's security officers who prevented them from leaving the country.

Thousands of Africans studying in Ukraine are desperate to leave the country.

However, reports say Ukrainian security officials are preventing them from catching buses and trains going to the border, prioritizing Ukrainians.

Those who managed to reach the Ukraine-Poland border also wrote on Twitter that Ukrainian police and army were refusing to let Africans cross.

The AU chiefs denounced the bad treatment against Africans as "unacceptable".

"All people have the right to cross international borders during conflict, and as such, should enjoy the same rights to cross to safety from the conflict in Ukraine, notwithstanding their nationality or racial identity," the two officials said in the statement.

They said reports Africans "are singled out for unacceptable dissimilar treatment would be shockingly racist and in breach of international law".

The chairpersons urged all countries to respect international law and show the same empathy and support to all people fleeing war regardless of their racial identity.

The two also commended efforts by AU member state countries and their embassies in neighboring countries to receive African citizens and their families trying to cross the border from Ukraine to safety.