Amidst battles between the Sudanese army led by Burhan and a rival powerful paramilitary group raging in and around Khartoum, Saudi Arabia on Saturday announced the safe evacuation of over 90 citizens including Indian nationals.
A day earlier, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had discussed the situation in violence-hit region with his counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
"In the implementation of the directives of the Kingdom's Leadership, we are pleased to announce the safe arrival of the evacuated citizens of the Kingdom from Sudan and several nationals of brotherly and friendly countries, including diplomats and international officials," the Saudi foreign ministry tweeted.
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Among those who are evacuated are citizens from neighbouring countries including Qatar, UAE, Canada, Bangladesh and India among others.
Referring to his phone talks with Saudi foreign minister Faisal bin Farhan, Jaishankar earlier said both sides will remain in close touch. "Appreciated his assessment of the Sudan situation. Will remain in close touch," he said on Twitter.
On Monday, the Indian embassy in Sudan issued a fresh advisory urging Indians not to venture out of their residences and stay calm. The embassy on Sunday said that an Indian national died in Khartoum after sustaining bullet injuries.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued directions for the preparation of contingency plans to evacuate Indians from Sudan as he carried out a detailed review of the security situation in the violence-hit country at a high-level meeting.
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The Prime Minister received a first-hand report of the conditions on the ground, with a specific focus on the safety of over 3,000 Indian citizens presently located throughout that country, the PMO said in a statement.
Other countries
The Sudanese army said Saturday it was coordinating efforts to evacuate American, British, Chinese and French citizens and diplomats from Sudan on military aircraft, as the bloody fighting that has engulfed the vast African nation entered its second week.
The military said that its chief, Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, had spoken to leaders of several countries who have requested safe evacuations of their citizens and diplomats from Sudan.
Burhan said that some diplomats from Saudi Arabia had already been evacuated from Port Sudan, the country's main seaport on the Red Sea, and airlifted back to the kingdom.
The Pentagon said earlier this week it was moving additional troops and equipment to a Naval base in the tiny Gulf of Aden nation of Djibouti to prepare for the evacuation of U.S. Embassy personnel.
But the White House said Friday it had no plans for a government-coordinated evacuation of an estimated 16,000 American citizens trapped in Sudan.
According to a report by The Guardian, the British government said it was “doing everything possible” to support nationals trapped in Sudan. PM Rishi Sunak held a meeting with defence secretary, Ben Wallace, and the Africa minister, Andrew Mitchell to prepare an action plan.
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(With inputs from AP)
