259 Pakistanis brought home from Sudan

The first batch of 259 Pakistanis who were evacuated from Sudan reached Karachi on Friday, as the fighting between the Sudanese armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (TSF) which broke out on April 15, reportedly killed hundreds of people.

The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) operated special flights, for repatriation of 259 Pakistanis from Sudan, according to a news release. It said 149 passengers were brought back by a PAF Airbus, while 110 were repatriated via a C-130 plane.

“The Air Force is making all-out efforts to repatriate stranded Pakistanis in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Pakistan Embassies in Sudan and Saudi Arabia,” the PAF news release said.

“The rescued Pakistanis from Port Sudan New International Airport are being transported by PAF aircraft. Pakistan Air Force would continue to repatriate the brothers and sisters in distress to their homeland,” it added.

“On the directives of the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu has ordered Pakistan Air Force (PAF) transport fleet to carry out swift evacuation of stranded Pakistanis from conflict-hit Sudan.”

Meanwhile, fighting raged in Sudan on Friday, despite rival forces agreeing to extend a truce aimed to stem nearly two weeks of warfare that has killed hundreds and caused widespread destruction.

There have been multiple truce efforts since fighting broke out on April 15 between troops led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the RSF commanded by his former deputy and fellow coup leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. All have failed.

Black clouds rose over the capital Khartoum as foreign governments scrambled to organise mass evacuations of their citizens, with Turkey's defence ministry reporting that one of their military transport aircraft had come under fire.

In the war-ravaged western Darfur region, scores have been killed in days of bitter urban battles in the city of El Geneina, the United Nations said. At least 512 people have been killed and 4,193 wounded in the fighting, according to health ministry figures.

(WITH INPUT FROM APP)