Evacuees from Sudan's civil conflict have told of their relief and their fears for those left behind as they arrived in Jeddah on Wednesday, as part of a Saudi rescue of 1,700 people.
A ship from the Port of Sudan arrived in the kingdom carrying people of 50 nationalities to safety. The latest rescue takes the total brought to Saudi Arabia above 2,000.
The vast majority of those fleeing the conflict were foreigners. The evacuation was one of the largest from Sudan so far, as governments around the world step up efforts to save their stranded citizens.
The UN says the death toll in the conflict between two warring armies has exceeded 500, and the WHO is warning of "many more" deaths from disease and lack of medical services.
Khartoum and nearby towns such as Omdurman have been the scene of nearly unrelenting violence, despite several foreign-mediated attempts at securing a lasting ceasefire.
At least 459 people had been killed and more than 4,000 injured as of Tuesday across Africa’s third-biggest country, according to UN agencies.
A three-day US-brokered ceasefire between the warring generals brought some calm to the capital, but witnesses reported fresh air strikes and paramilitaries claimed to have seized a major oil refinery and power plant.
Saudi Arabia has received several rounds of evacuees by air and sea, starting with boats that arrived in Jeddah on Saturday carrying 150 people including foreign diplomats and officials.
No comments:
Post a Comment