KUALA LUMPUR – The 30 Malaysians evacuated from Khartoum, Sudan have reached the Sudan Port after a 30-hour journey, and are awaiting transfer out of the country.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir told the New Straits Times that the evacuees will be sent to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, or Cairo in Egypt before being flown back to Malaysia.
In a separate statement, he said Wisma Putra was looking at options for the next stage of their evacuation, either by air or sea, depending on which was the fastest and most immediately available mode of transport to leave Sudan.
“The group arrived at Sudan port at 2.07pm local time (8.07pm Malaysia time) on April 24 after a journey of 1,233 km that took 30 hours,” Zambry said.
He said the Malaysian evacuation mission had also rescued 26 other foreign nationals comprising 14 Singaporeans, six Cambodians, two Americans, and one Filipino, a Palestinian, and a Sudanese.
“All of them in the Malaysian convoy are reported to be healthy and safe,” Zambry said.
The minister thanked Malaysia’s ambassador to Sudan, Razdan Jamil, his team and the Ops Sudan Malaysia Special Task Force for working on the evacuation plan.
Yesterday, Zambry said the 30 citizens were on the way out of Khartoum using a land route, and had faced delays due to a curfew and a burst vehicle tyre.
There were 32 Malaysians reported to be in Sudan in seven different areas. All are now reported to be safe, with two of them moved to a safe location on April 21.
Several countries have been evacuating their citizens from Sudan, where armed conflict broke out two weeks ago between the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Force, each led by rival generals.
Earlier today, both sides reportedly agreed to observe a nationwide ceasefire for 72 hours starting at midnight, according to the German Press Agency. – The Vibes, April 25, 2023
