As the turmoil continues in Sudan, the Federal Government may have dashed their hopes of early evacuation of its citizens especially students studying in the violence-torn country even as the number of Nigerian students who have indicated willingness to return back to Nigeria has risen to 1,700.
The government explained that the tense situation in Sudan was making it difficult for stranded Nigerian citizens to be evacuated from the country.
The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said though the Nigerian Mission in Sudan and the National Emergency Management Agency had put in place arrangements to evacuate the citizens, it was impossible for any flight during this period of war.
This was contained in a statement signed by Gabriel Odu of the Media, Public Relations and Protocols Unit, NIDCOM, on Friday.
The statement read, “The Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has said while the Nigerian Mission in Sudan and the National Emergency Management Agency have put in place arrangements to evacuate Nigerian students and other Nigerian citizens stranded in Sudan, the tensed situation makes it gravely risky and impossible for any flights at this point in time, noting that aircrafts parked at the airport in the country were burnt yesterday (Thursday) morning
“Dabiri-Erewa noted that humanitarian groups are seeking ways of getting food, water and medical supplies across to people.
“She therefore appealed to the fighting parties to consider the Juba Peace Agreement enunciated by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development as a fundamental mechanism for the restoration of peace and tranquillity in the country.”
Meanwhile, over 1,700 Nigerian students appealed to the Federal Government to evacuate them from the Republic of Sudan where a fierce military confrontation between the Sudanese armed forces and the paramilitary group, Rapid Support Force, has claimed 400 lives with 3,500 injured.
The figure is an increase from the 1,262 which had earlier filled the evacuation form as at Wednesday night.
And this is as heavy fighting continues in the Sudanese capital even after Sudan’s Army declared a truce. The situation is dealing a blow to international efforts to end almost a week of fighting between the military and a rival paramilitary group.
The Army said on Friday evening it agreed to a three-day truce to enable people to celebrate the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr. Its adversary, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), also said earlier in the day it had agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire, also to mark Eid.
“The armed forces hope that the rebels will abide by all the requirements of the truce and stop any military moves that would obstruct it,” an army statement said.
The army’s announcement followed another day of hostilities in Khartoum and the army’s first deployment on foot in the capital since the fighting began last Saturday.
Soldiers and armed men from the RSF shot at each other in neighbourhoods across the city, including during the call for special early morning Eid prayers.
Gunfire crackled without pause all day, punctuated by the thud of artillery and air raids. Drone footage showed plumes of smoke across Khartoum and its Nile sister cities of Omdurman and Bahri – together one of Africa’s biggest urban areas.
The fighting has killed hundreds, mainly in Khartoum and the west of Sudan, tipping the continent’s third-largest country – where about a quarter of people already relied on food aid – into a humanitarian disaster.
With the airport caught in the fighting and the skies unsafe, nations including the United States, Japan, South Korea, Germany and Spain have been unable to evacuate embassy staff.
In Washington, DC, the US State Department said without elaborating that one US citizen in Sudan had been killed. The White House said no decision had been made yet to evacuate US diplomatic personnel but it was preparing for such an eventuality if it became necessary.
At least five aid workers have been killed, including three from the World Food Programme, which has since suspended its Sudan operation – one of the world’s largest food aid missions.
A worker at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) was killed in the city of El-Obeid on Friday after his vehicle was hit by crossfire as he tried to move his family to safety.
Paul Dillon of the IOM said the staff was killed at a time the fighting between the warring sides in Sudan intensified in El-Obeid.
“Our staff member, his wife and their newborn child got into a private vehicle and headed south to relocate to a safer place,” Dillon told Al Jazeera from Geneva.
“About 50km outside of El-Obeid, they found themselves in crossfire between two factions,” he said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said at least 413 people have been killed and thousands injured, with hospitals under attack and up to 20,000 people fleeing to neighbouring Chad.
“An increasing number of people are running out of food, water, and power, including in Khartoum,” the UN humanitarian office said.
Sudan borders seven countries and sits between Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Africa’s volatile Sahel region. The hostilities risk fanning regional tensions.
The violence was triggered by disagreement over an internationally backed plan to form a new civilian government four years after the fall of former leader Omar al-Bashir to mass protests, and two years after a military coup.
Both sides accuse the other of thwarting the transition.
With agency reports
