14 S’poreans, With Help from M’sia, Saudi Arabia and UAE, Evacuated from Sudan

Last Updated on 2023-05-05 , 11:12 am

If you’ve been keeping up with global news lately, you might know that Sudan is currently embroiled in the chaos caused by the fights between two of the country’s military factions.

And just yesterday (27 April), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) announced that two Singaporean families in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, have been safely evacuated from the country.

In total, the two families were made up of 14 Singaporeans and another family member.

When speaking to The Straits Times, MFA mentioned that the Singaporeans have since been brought to Jeddah, a Saudi Arabian city.

Evacuated Via Saudi Arabian Ship With the Help of Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and UAE

According to the spokesperson, the Singaporeans evacuated the country alongside other people of different nationalities, including Malaysians.

In particular, the evacuation was set up by the Singapore Embassies in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, as well as the Singapore Consulate-General in Jeddah.

They “worked closely” with both their host government and the Malaysian embassies in these areas to carry out the evacuation smoothly.

The Singapore Consulate-General in Jeddah also mentioned on Facebook that the Singaporeans were able to exit Sudan with the help of a ship from Saudi Arabia, the HMS – Abha.

“Every effort was made to make [the Singaporeans] feel welcome[,] and comforts were provided. We would also like to take the opportunity to thank our colleagues from the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Saudi Armed Forces for all the assistance rendered on the ground, both in Saudi Arabia and Sudan.

“We would also like to express our appreciation to the government of Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for their assistance in this evacuation effort,” the Singapore Consulate-General in Jeddah added.

Wong Chow Ming, Singapore’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, also wrote about the experience via his Twitter account.

Very grateful to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for arranging by ship the evacuation of 14 Singapore citizens, among many others, from Port Sudan to Jeddah last night. Their perilous journey from Khartoum was also facilitated by Malaysia & UAE. A truly multinational humanitarian mission pic.twitter.com/A8oFkkwbzS

— Chowming Wong (@ChowmingW) April 26, 2023

Apart from expressing gratitude to the Saudi Arabian government for deploying a ship to evacuate Singaporeans, Wong commented that those who evacuated from Sudan went through a “perilous journey” and that it was “a truly multinational humanitarian mission”.

MFA Working With Singaporeans in Sudan, Thanked Malaysian, Saudi and UAE Governments

On the other hand, MFA also clarified that it has been in touch with Singaporeans in Sudan to render consular assistance and help them find ways to evacuate from the country.

Apart from that, the ministry mentioned in a statement that it is extremely appreciative and grateful to the governments of Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and UAE for aiding Singaporeans to return to Singapore safely.

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Why Countries are Evacuating Their Citizens From Sudan

As to why countries are scrambling to evacuate their citizens from Sudan, here’s a quick crash course.

Earlier this month, Sudan’s army and the paramilitary (RSF) forces began fighting.

The former, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the latter, led by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, began their fight on 15 April in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital.

Since then, the Saudi Arabian government has been able to evacuate around 2,150 people in total.

Countries like France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Turkey, South Korea and Egypt have done the same.

Although the United States called for a ceasefire on a three-day-long Tuesday (25 April), both parties have continued to fight.

The health ministry reports that at least 512 people have died and 4,193 have been injured, but the actual death toll “is likely” to be higher.