2nd batch of Palestinians evacuated from Sudan arrives in Gaza

By Nour Mahd Ali Abu Aisha and Hacer Baser

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - The second batch of Palestinians evacuated from conflict-torn Sudan arrived in Gaza on Friday, according to the Interior Ministry in Gaza.

In a written statement, the ministry said a total of 281 Palestinians have been evacuated from Sudan since the conflict broke out between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Some 98 Palestinians arrived in Gaza on Friday, while the first batch of evacuees consisting of 183 Palestinians had arrived last week, it said.

Of the Palestinians evacuated from Sudan, 183 reached the Gaza Strip through Rafah, the land border gate between Egypt and Gaza on April 28.

Fighting between the two rival generals in Sudan – army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and paramilitary RSF commander Mohammed Hamdan "Hemedti" Dagalo – broke out on April 15, leaving more than 550 people dead, according to the Sudanese Health Ministry.

A disagreement had been fomenting in recent months between the army and the paramilitary force over RSF integration into the armed forces, a key condition of Sudan's transition agreement with political groups.

Sudan has been without a functioning government since October 2021, when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s transitional government and declared a state of emergency in a move decried by political forces as a “coup.”

Sudan’s transitional period, which started in August 2019 after the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir, was scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.