All M’sians safely evacuated out of Khartoum

PUTRAJAYA: All 30 Malaysians stranded in Khartoum, Sudan, successfully arrived at Port Sudan at 2.07pm (8.07pm Malaysian time) on Monday, after a 30-hour journey covering a distance of 1,233km.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir (pic) said Malaysia’s Sudan Ops Special Forces (TF) also brought out 26 other citizens, with all well and safe, Bernama reported.

They included one Filipino, six Cambodians, 14 Singaporeans, one Thai, two Americans, one Palestinian and one Sudanese.

Zambry said the two Malaysians who were not evacuated were individuals who worked for the United Nations Mission in Sudan in Abyei, and that their evacuation will be handled by the UN.

“Additionally, we are attempting to evacuate all 56 out of Port Sudan through two options, by air (special leased aircraft) or sea.

“This depends on which option will get the fastest and immediate approval from the relevant parties.

“Together, we pray that the process of removing them from Sudan will be accomplished as quickly as possible so that they will be able to return to their homeland safely,” he said in a statement yesterday.

So far, more than 400 people have been reported killed and over 3,500 injured since the armed conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) broke out on April 15.