South African government has expressed concern about the continued fighting in Sudan where violence erupted last week following a breakdown in negotiations.
Battles between rival military factions have triggered a humanitarian crisis, with foreign states seeking evacuations.
South Africa is reiterating its call to the warring factions to lay down their weapons and return to the negotiating table.
South Africa is currently serving as a member of the African Union Peace and Security Council and working with other countries towards peace and stability in Sudan.
Evacuations
The Department of International Relations says its plans are in place to evacuate South Africans who are stuck in Sudan.
It has 77 verified South Africans stuck in the country.
As the Sudanese army and a paramilitary group fighting for control of the capital, an increasing number of foreign diplomats have been evacuated from Khartoum, but foreign civilians are finding it difficult to leave the country.
Earlier, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation’s head of public diplomacy, Clayson Monyela tweeted that they are all in a WhatsApp group with Embassy staff who are also stranded in Khartoum.
Latest number of verified SA nationals stuck in #Sudan is 77. They’re all in a WhatsApp group with embassy staff (who are also still stuck there). Complaints of inconsistent/little/no communication from the team is noted. However, they’ve run out of diesel. There’s no electricity…
— Clayson Monyela (@ClaysonMonyela) April 23, 2023
Monyela has conceded that the evacuation will be dangerous and risky.
Gift of the Givers founder Dr Imtiaz Sooliman on the situation of trapped South Africans in Sudan:
Earlier, the warring army and RSF each accused the other of attacking a French convoy. The army said the RSF had fired on the convoy, wounding a French national.
The RSF said it had been attacked by aircraft during the evacuation, leading to a French national being wounded, and it had returned the convoy to its starting point.
The video below is reporting more on the story:
Meanwhile, the first German air force plane with 101 people evacuated from Sudan arrived in Berlin early on Monday, according to a military source.
The Airbus A321 had transported the evacuees from the Jordanian base Al Azrak that the German military is using as a hub for the evacuation operation to Berlin.
In total, the German military has flown out 313 people from Sudan so far, the source said. -Additional reporting by Reuters
