KUALA LUMPUR – The 30 Malaysians being evacuated from Khartoum, Sudan are travelling over a land route to escape escalating conflict there, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir said.
He told Berita Harian the mission to evacuate the citizens was now in a critical phase and is therefore not revealing the location of those being evacuated for their safety.
The 30 Malaysians will have to travel overland until a certain point before they can exit the country, which is seeing fighting between government forces and a military squad known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Zambry also said that the evacuees were stranded for four hours during the journey because of curfew orders as well as a burst tyre on one of the vehicles.
Altogether, 32 Malaysians were reported to be in Sudan in seven different areas. All are reported to be safe, with two of them moved to a safe location on April 21.
The armed conflict broke out two weeks ago between the Sudanese Armed Forces and RSF, each led by rival generals.
RSF announced a 72-hour ceasefire three days ago, but fighting in Khartoum continues to be reported.
The World Health Organisation has put the death toll at 400 currently, with thousands more injured. – The Vibes, April 24, 2023
