Saudi Arabia Evacuates Stranded Individuals from Sudan
Gulf
Riyadh – Jeddah – Abdulhadi Habtor – Asma al-Ghabri
Saudi Arabia is carrying out ongoing humanitarian operations to evacuate its citizens and numerous foreign nationals from Sudan. This move follows a recent escalation of tensions between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, which has resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries to date. “Citizens of all nationalities are arriving safely and securely at the port of Jeddah,” said Thamer Almatrudi, a Saudi citizen, who was describing his evacuation journey from Port Sudan to Jeddah. Dozens of individuals of different nationalities arrived in Jeddah from Sudan on Saudi military ships as part of an ongoing evacuation operation by the Kingdom. Some of the evacuees reported that the journey from Port Sudan to Jeddah on a Saudi frigate takes around 20 hours. The evacuees were welcomed at King Abdullah Air Base and King Faisal Naval Base in Jeddah. According to the Saudi Press Agency, a total of 356 individuals have been evacuated from Sudan so far, including 101 Saudi citizens and 255 people from 26 other nationalities. The Korean ambassador to Sudan and around 29 Korean nationals, along with other diplomats, were among those evacuated and welcomed by the Korean ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Saudi officials. The Korean diplomat expressed appreciation on behalf of South Korea’s Presidential Office to King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the Saudi government’s aid in evacuating Korean nationals from Sudan. A Saudi official who took part in the evacuation efforts inside Sudan stated that the process was risky as it required traveling through rugged and desert terrain from the capital city of Khartoum to avoid ongoing conflicts between opposing factions. For his part, the US Consul General in Jeddah Faris Asad praised the Kingdom’s humanitarian efforts in various fields and its keenness to support friendly nations. He also thanked all institutions in the Kingdom for their warm hospitality and efforts in facilitating US nationals’ procedures from their departure until their arrival at Saudi territory. The list of those evacuated included not only Saudi citizens, but also stranded individuals from Libya, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Sudan, Türkiye, Sweden, Britain, Qatar, the Netherlands, the United States, Italy, and Tanzania.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4295476/saudi-arabia-evacuates-stranded-individuals-sudan
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