157 people, including Indians, evacuated by Saudi from war-torn Sudan

Saudi Arabia successfully evacuated 157 people, including Indians, from Sudan, as per a statement by the Saudi foreign ministry on Saturday. The evacuation was carried out by the kingdom’s naval forces with the support of other branches of the army, marking the first announced evacuation of civilians since fighting broke out in the northeast African nation.

 

At least 13 nationalities, including Saudis, have landed in Jeddah. Besides Indians, citizens of Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Egypt, Tunisia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Canada, the Philippines, and Burkina Faso were among those evacuated on the day. The foreigners included ‘diplomats and international officials,’ the ministry said without giving further details. Saudi state-run Al-Ekhbariya television released several videos of warships approaching Jeddah’s port on Saturday. The evacuees were received by officials and soldiers who distributed sweets on the occasion of the Islamic Eid al-Fitr holiday, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, footage showed.

 

According to Al-Ekhbariya, among those who arrived in Jeddah on Saturday was the crew of a Saudi passenger plane that was hit by gunfire while preparing to take off from Khartoum at the start of the fighting on April 15. The broadcaster said that the evacuees were transported in a convoy of vehicles to Port Sudan from where they boarded ships to Jeddah. ‘Saudi Arabia worked to provide all the necessary needs of foreign nationals’ ahead of their departure to their respective countries, the statement added.

 

The conflict, which started between forces loyal to Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and those of his deputy-turned-rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has left hundreds dead and thousands wounded.

 

Clashes erupted on April 15 in Khartoum, the capital, where heavy gunfire, loud explosions, and fighter jets were heard on Saturday morning, according to witnesses. Sudan’s army said on Saturday that several countries’ leaders had called for facilitating and guaranteeing the safety of evacuating citizens and diplomatic missions. The United States, Britain, France, and China are planning to airlift their nationals out of Khartoum using military jets.