Cape Town – The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) confirmed on Saturday that all South Africans who were stuck in war-torn Sudan have been safely evacuated.
According to EWN, a flight carrying the second group of South African nationals landed on home soil on Saturday afternoon.
They were reunited with their families after a grueling few days which saw them first evacuated from Sudan to neighbouring Saudi Arabia, the report said.
“We can now confirm that all SA nationals we know of are out of Sudan.
“Evacuations like this are never easy and face multiple difficulties and frustrations. The South African nationals who were at Port Sudan managed to cross into Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and were received by our consul general and his team who facilitated on-ground support,” Dirco spokesperson Clayson Monyela said in a tweet.
Evacuation of SA nationals from #Sudan…update. We can now confirm that all SA nationals we know of are out of Sudan. Evacuations like this are not easy & face multiple difficulties & frustrations. We appreciate the partnerships & collaboration of Gift of the Givers, countries… pic.twitter.com/vJ8ZHMpGz1
— Clayson Monyela (@ClaysonMonyela) April 29, 2023
“We note that there were many frustrations along the way but this is ongoing work. The key goal and objective for us was to get South Africans out of harm’s way and to ensure that they are facilitated back to South Africa safely and we are grateful that we have been able to get everybody out,” spokesperson Clayson Monyela said in a tweet.
Meanwhile, AFP reported that warplanes on bombing raids drew heavy anti-aircraft fire over Khartoum on Saturday, as fierce fighting between Sudan’s army and paramilitaries entered a third week, violating a renewed truce.
More than 500 people have been killed since battles erupted on April 15 between the forces of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his number two Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
They have agreed to multiple truces but none has effectively taken hold as the number of dead civilians continues to rise and chaos and lawlessness grip Khartoum, a city of five million people where many have been cloistered in their homes lacking food, water, and electricity.
Tens of thousands of people have been uprooted within Sudan or embarked on arduous trips to neighbouring Chad, Egypt, South Sudan and Ethiopia to flee the battles.
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Picture: Twitter/@ClaysonMonyela
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Compiled by Betha Madhomnu
