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542 Indonesians evacuated from conflict-ridden Sudan
The first period of ceasefire saw dozens of foreign countries, including Indonesia, taking advantage by doing the bulk of their evacuation efforts.
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This handout satellite image, courtesy of Maxar Technologies taken on April 17, shows an Il-76 transport aircraft burning at Khartoum International Airport. Violence erupted early on April 15 after weeks of deepening tensions between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, commander of the heavily-armed paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with each accusing the other of starting the fight. (AFP/Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies)
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ndonesia has evacuated 542 citizens from Sudan, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, as a ceasefire between forces loyal to two rival generals came into force after some 10 days of fighting.
The 542 evacuees are now heading to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia by sea from the designated safe zone in Port Sudan, before heading back to Indonesia, in the first out of two rounds of evacuation to repatriate a total of 1,209 Indonesian nationals residing in Sudan.
Most of the evacuees were rescued from Khartoum, the epicenter of Sudan’s armed conflict, some 830 kilometers away from the safe zone, by an Indonesian team of envoys, military and medical personnel.
Since conflict broke out between forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, the commander of the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), on April 15, two 72-hour ceasefires have been announced. The first was announced last Friday ahead of Idul Fitri celebrations, and the second on Tuesday after the United States’ successful negotiations to broker the truce.
The first period of the ceasefire saw dozens of foreign countries, including Indonesia, taking advantage by doing the bulk of their evacuation efforts.
“It was our initial plan to evacuate all Indonesian citizens during the [first] ceasefire. But there were fuel limitations imposed on the evacuation buses, making it impossible to do everything in one go,” Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said in a video statement on Monday.
The Foreign Ministry did not respond immediately on Tuesday when asked whether the second round of evacuation had begun following the most recent ceasefire.
