Indians stuck in violence-hit Sudan safely evacuated

Clashes broke out between the forces loyal to Sudanese Army General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and those of his deputy-turned-rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), leaving hundreds dead and thousands wounded.

In a statement, the foreign ministry said, “Indians stuck in Sudan arrive in Saudi Arabia after evacuation, as well as people from other nations, arrived safely from Sudan, including diplomats and international officials.”

The evacuation was carried out by the kingdom’s naval forces with the support of other branches of the Army, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

A total of 157 individuals from India, Pakistan, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Tunisia, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Canada, and Burkina Faso were evacuated. Saudi Arabia “worked to provide all the necessary needs of foreign nationals” ahead of their departure to their respective countries, the ministry said.

The evacuation of civilians from Sudan that occurred on Saturday was the first of its kind since violence broke out in the country a week prior. Sudan’s Army confirmed that its leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, had received phone calls from various world leaders requesting assistance in ensuring the safe evacuation of citizens and diplomatic missions.

The Army stated that the evacuations were scheduled to commence in the next few hours, with the United States, Britain, France, and China intending to use military aircraft to airlift their nationals out of Khartoum.