37 Pakistanis reach Jeddah from Sudan

Foreign Office praises Saudi Arabia’s hospitality

ISLAMABAD:

A group of 37 Pakistanis reached Jeddah after being evacuated from the war zone in Sudan, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said in a tweet on Wednesday.

Baloch said that the Pakistan Embassy in Sudan would continue to facilitate the stay of Pakistan expatriates in in Port Sudan and arrange their eventual repatriation from the country.

“Evacuation plan for Pakistani nationals in Sudan continues. The ship carrying 37 Pakistani nationals from Port Sudan arrives in Jeddah,” Baloch wrote on microblogging website. “We are grateful to Government of KSA for its support & hospitality.”

Authorities in Jeddah said earlier that a boat with 1,687 civilians from more than 50 countries, fleeing violence in Sudan arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday – the largest rescue effort by the Gulf kingdom to date.

The group was "transported by one of the Kingdom's ships, and the Kingdom was keen to provide all the basic needs of foreign nationals in preparation for their departure," the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement.

Fighting broke out in Sudan on April 15 between forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

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. The fighting also destroyed hospitals and limited food distribution in a nation heavily reliant on aid.

A three-day US-brokered ceasefire brought some calm to the capital Khartoum, but witnesses reported fresh air strikes and paramilitaries claimed to have seized a major oil refinery and power plant.

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Tuesday that Pakistan’s rescue efforts, led by Ambassador Meer Bahrose Regi, had evacuated over 700 Pakistan from the war zone to safety in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan.

“Ambassador Meer Bahrose Regi’s team in Khartoum and Port Sudan is working day and night to facilitate the stay of Pakistanis, who are still in Sudan until their evacuation to Pakistan,” the minister added.

The Saudi authorities said that 2,148 people had been evacuated by air and sea to Jeddah from Sudan, including more than 2,000 foreigners. On Saturday boats carrying 150 people including foreign diplomats and officials reached Jeddah.

(WITH INPUT FROM AFP)