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South Africans evacuated from Sudan now stuck in Egypt

Sudanese soldiers secure the area as Sudan's ex-president Omar al-Bashir leaves the office of the anti-corruption prosecutor.
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The process of evacuating South African citizens from war torn Sudan is far from over, as the 22 South Africans are said to still be trapped in Egypt.

Gift of the Givers says citizens have been waiting in Egypt for clearance for the past three days. At the weekend South Africa welcomed two groups of evacuees at the O.R. Tambo International Airport.

They were taken from Sudan to Egypt after which they travelled to Kenya.

The conflict between Sudan’s army and a paramilitary group, Rapid Support Forces, has triggered a rush among countries to evacuate their diplomats and citizens. More than 500 people have been killed and nearly 4200 others wounded in the fighting.

Gift of the Givers founder Imtiaz Sooliman says work is currently underway to get the South Africans safely back home.

Sooliman says, “Gift of the Givers received a call from two South Africans caught up in Egypt. They went by boat from Port Sudan to be hired by a company called Ambrey. This boat was chartered by the company that had employed the South Africans for a project that started in September last year in Port Sudan and had just two more weeks of completion of the project before the war started.”

“They have been waiting in that boat in Egypt for the past three days so they can get clearance so they can catch their flight from Kairo to South Africa. Unfortunately, they have had to postpone their flight for the last two to three days. We are busy forwarding this information to Dirco to have the situation dissolved,” says Sooliman.

More South Africans are expected back home this Sunday from the conflict-torn Sudan

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