Ops Sudan Completed, All 30 Malaysians Return Safely
SEPANG (Malaysia), April 28 (Bernama) -- The operation to bring back 30 Malaysians from Sudan under Ops Sudan in conflict-ravaged country is over with everyone arriving home safely without any injuries, said Malaysian Foreign Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir.
"(Their) long journey from Khartoum took 30 hours over 1,300 kilometres... with various obstacles and finally today they arrived safely at KLIA," he told the media after welcoming the arrival of the 30 Malaysians at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in here Friday.
Zambry said that even though Ops Sudan has been completed, Wisma Putra (Malaysian foreign ministry) is still closely following developments in Sudan.
"If there are Malaysians still stranded in Sudan, the families are told to inform Wisma Putra so that we can help find them. I advise Malaysians who want to visit Sudan to postpone their trip until the situation improves," he said.
He said the Malaysian Embassy in Sudan is temporarily closed and all related matters will be handled by the Malaysian Embassy in Cairo.
More than 400 people were reported killed and more than 3,500 injured as a result of the armed conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary force that broke out on April 15.
On April 25, it was reported that 30 Malaysians who were stranded in Khartoum, had safely arrived in Port Sudan at 2.07 pm Monday Sudan time (8.07 pm Malaysia time) after a 30-hour journey covering a distance of 1,233 kilometres.
It was reported that there were 32 Malaysians in Sudan in seven different places and on April 21, two Malaysians were taken out and transferred to a safe place.
The two Malaysians were individuals who serve with the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) in Abyei and their evacuation process will be carried out by the UN.
Zambry said the success of bringing home all the registered Malaysians was the result of the joint efforts of all parties including the concern expressed by the Malaysian King Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
"The good relationship between His Majesty (Al Sultan Abdullah) and the President of the UAE (Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan) aided (the process) of getting Malaysians out.
"Thank you also to the Prime Minister for his care in following every development and taking steps to ensure that the operation can be carried out as best as possible, including contacting the leadership involved in the dispute," he said.
Zambry also expressed his appreciation to the UAE and Saudi Arabia for also helping to get all 30 Malaysians from Sudan.
Zambry said the Malaysian side also helped evacuate some other nationals from Sudan including the United States, Cambodia and Singapore, in addition to Palestinian, Filipino and Thai nationals who also arrived at KLIA today with the 30 Malaysians.
-- BERNAMA
