India Steps Up Sudan Evacuation Efforts After Ceasefire Extension
NEW DELHI, April 26 (Bernama) -- India has stepped up efforts to evacuate its nationals stranded in Sudan, aided by an extension of ceasefire between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the rebellious paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The first batch of 278 Indians reached Saudi Arabia's port of Jeddah from Port Sudan aboard the Indian Navy's offshore patrol vessel INS Sumedha, Indian officials said on Tuesday night.
Two Indian C-130 military planes later brought another 283 people to Jeddah from Port Sudan.
Indian authorities have set up a "transit facility" in Jeddah city where the evacuees are being received before their journey to India.
India has also deployed the frigate INS Teg for further evacuations from Port Sudan.
The ship reached Sudan with officials and relief supplies for stranded Indians, the Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
An estimated 3,000 Indian nationals were in Sudan when the fighting broke out on April 15.
Taking advantage of a lull in the fighting, foreign nationals are leaving Khartoum and other conflict zones in droves.
More than 1,600 Turkish citizens travelled from Sudan to Ethiopia, the Turkish news agency Anadolu reported.
The United Kingdom's first evacuation flight from Sudan landed at Larnaca International Airport in Cyprus on Tuesday and more flights were planned, the BBC reported.
Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said 700 Pakistanis had reached Port Sudan on Tuesday for evacuation.
The Sudanese military, commanded by General Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the RSF paramilitary group of tens of thousands of fighters headed by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, extended last week's ceasefire for another 72 hours starting Tuesday.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the fighting is causing displacement of civilians in many areas and prices of essential goods have shot up.
"After ten days of fighting, shortages of food, water, medicines and fuel are becoming extremely acute, especially in Khartoum and surrounding areas," it said on Tuesday.
-- BERNAMA
