ISLAMABAD: A ship carrying 37 Pakistani nationals from battle-stricken Sudan — where the conflict between the army and paramilitaries has left hundreds dead and thousands injured — arrived in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah on Wednesday, the Foreign Office (FO) said.
“Evacuation plan for Pakistani nationals in Sudan continues. The ship carrying 37 Pakistani nationals from Port Sudan arrives in Jeddah,” the FO said in a tweet.
“They were received by CG in Jeddah, Khalid Majid on arrival at Jeddah Port. We are grateful to the Government of KSA for its support & hospitality,” it added.
Evacuation plan for Pakistani nationals in Sudan continues. The ship carrying 37 Pakistani nationals from Port Sudan arrives in Jeddah. They were received by CG in Jeddah, Khalid Majid on arrival at Jeddah Port. We are grateful to Government of KSA for its support & hospitality. pic.twitter.com/7Vf8KaBpT7
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) April 26, 2023
According to the Saudi Arabia Foreign Ministry, the boat with 1,687 civilians from more than 50 countries arrived in the kingdom today, which is the largest rescue effort by the Gulf state to date.
Among those who arrived on Wednesday, 13 were Saudi, while the rest belonged to countries across the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe, and North and Central America, the Saudi FO said.
All told, 2,148 people have so far been evacuated to the kingdom from Sudan, including more than 2,000 foreigners, the statement added.
In continuation of the evacuation efforts made by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the directives of the Kingdoms Leadership, several evacuees arrived from the Republic of Sudan to the city of Jeddah today by a Kingdoms ship, which included 13 Saudi citizens and 1674 individuals pic.twitter.com/TJsucxTZnT
— Foreign Ministry 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaEN) April 26, 2023
Fragile ceasefire
The US-brokered ceasefire between Sudan’s warring factions entered its second day today but remained shaky after witnesses reported fresh air strikes and paramilitaries claimed to have seized a major oil refinery and power plant.
The eruption of violence in Sudan on April 15 trapped millions of residents in the battle-scarred capital Khartoum inside their homes, many running low on water and food.
Heavy shelling and gunfire from the two sides has damaged key infrastructure, like water pipes, forcing some people to drink from the River Nile.
Foreign countries have scrambled to evacuate their diplomats and citizens from the war-torn country.
At least 459 people had been killed and more than 4,000 as of Tuesday across Africa’s third-biggest country, according to UN agencies.
