Malaysians arrive safely at Sudan Port after 30-hour journey, says Zambry

PETALING JAYA: The 30 Malaysians who were stranded in Khartoum following an unrest, have arrived safely at Sudan Port, says Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir.

In a statement, he said they arrived at Port Sudan at 8.07pm Malaysian time on Monday (April 24) after travelling 1,233km for 30 hours.

Malaysia's Ops Sudan Special Forces (TF) also helped to evacuate 26 other nationals.

They are from the Philippines (one), Cambodia (six), Singapore (14), Thailand (one), the United States (two), Palestine (one) and Sudan (one).

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He said the United Nations will handle the evacuation of two Malaysian employees of the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) in Abyei who were not part of the group.

"We are attempting to evacuate all 56 from Port Sudan, either by air (on a special charter jet) or by sea (on a ship).

"This depends on which option will get the fastest and immediate approval,” he added.

ALSO READ : Govt waiting for permission to land in Sudan to evacuate Malaysians, says Zambry

Malaysia had earlier contacted Sudan's highest administration to request permission to land in the country in order to evacuate stranded Malaysians.

This followed the action of the Sudanese Civil Aviation Authority to extend the closure of the country's airspace until April 30.

A total of 32 Malaysians were reported to be safe in seven different areas of Sudan.

On Friday (April 21), two Malaysians there were moved to a safe location.

Based on data from the World Health Organisation (WHO), the death toll from the unrest in Sudan increased to more than 400, while 3,500 others were reported injured.

The armed conflict broke out two weeks ago between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF).