By Christine Fabro
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Saturday, April 22, said the government is preparing plans to assure the safety of about 300 Filipinos trapped in Sudan.
In a statement, Marcos said they are preparing the contingencies to evacuate the Filipinos safely, despite the inaccessibility of airports in the war-torn country.
“We have about 300 people in Sudan. Unfortunately, none of the airports are functioning. They are still under fire,” Marcos said.
“But we are already preparing the assets that might be involved. We are just waiting to get better information as to whether or not it is safe to bring our evacuees out of Khartoum, perhaps into Cairo,” he noted.
Marcos explained that the Philippine embassy in Cairo, which is in charge of Sudan, is yet to secure a land route for the Filipinos to be evacuated from Khartoum to Cairo.
The clashes in Sudan began April 15 after weeks of tension between the rival factions of the military government, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group.
Filipinos among first civilian evacuees
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced Saturday night the safe arrival of its citizens, along with some foreign nationals, from the embattled Sudan.
In a statement, it said the evacuation operation for 91 Saudi Arabians and 66 foreign nationals were carried out by the Royal Saudi Naval Forces with the support of the branches of the armed forces.
“The number of citizens who were evacuated reached 91 citizens, while the number of people who were evacuated from brotherly and friendly countries reached approximately 66, representing the following nationalities (Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Tunisia, Pakistan, India, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Canada, and Burkina Faso),” the statement read.
“The Kingdom worked to provide all the necessary needs of foreign nationals in preparation for their departure to their countries,” it added.
#Statement | In the implementation of the directives of the Kingdom's Leadership, we are pleased to announce the safe arrival of the evacuated citizens of the Kingdom from Sudan and several nationals of brotherly & friendly countries, including diplomats & international officials pic.twitter.com/Eg0YemshYD
— Foreign Ministry 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaEN) April 22, 2023
The Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs on Thursday, April 20, said more than 80 Filipinos have requested for evacuation and repatriation. – gb
