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Indonesia begins repatriation of 1,200 nationals from conflict-ridden Sudan
Two rounds of evacuations to repatriate some 1200 Indonesian nationals residing in violence-stricken Sudan continues, with the Indonesian Military (TNI) now involved in the efforts.
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People fleeing street battles between the forces of two rival Sudanese generals are transported on the back of a truck in the southern part of Khartoum, on April 21. Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands wounded since the fighting erupted on April 15 between forces loyal to Sudan's army chief and the commander of the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). (AFP/-)
T
he Foreign Ministry on Monday said it was planning two rounds of evacuations to repatriate some 1200 Indonesian nationals residing in violence-stricken Sudan, with the Indonesian Military (TNI) now involved in the efforts.
A team led by Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi, composed of envoys from Khartoum, Riyadh, Cairo, Addis Ababa and Jeddah have so far rescued 538 people during the first stage of evacuation on April 23. Most of the evacuees hailed from Khartoum, the epicentrum of Sudan’s armed conflict, approximately 830 kilometers away from the safe zone in Port Sudan where they will stop by Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah before heading back to Indonesia.
Sudan’s conflicting paramilitary, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Friday announced a 72-hour ceasefire, which was subsequently used by foreign countries including Indonesia to do the bulk of its evacuation efforts.
“It was our initial plan to evacuate all Indonesian citizens during the ceasefire. But there were fuel limitations imposed on the evacuation buses, making it impossible to do everything in one go,” said Retno via a video statement on Monday, adding that the situation on the ground was volatile and dynamic.
“There are still another 289 evacuees [waiting], most of which are university students. [...] They will be evacuated during the second stage of evacuation as soon as the situation allows.”
Eight buses and one minibus have been deployed for the evacuation process, with 15 checkpoints spread throughout the Khartoum-Port Sudan route.
“This morning, an evacuation team flew to Jeddah using the Air Force’s plane. They consist of TNI security and medical teams, as well as some Foreign Ministry staff.”
