Over 1,600 Turkish citizens taken from conflict-torn Sudan to Ethiopia by bus: Diplomatic sources

By Mustafa Deveci

ANKARA (AA) – Using buses, over 1,600 Turkish citizens have been transported to Ethiopia from Sudan, where fighting between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support has left hundreds of people dead, Turkish diplomatic sources said Tuesday.

Foreign Ministry's efforts to evacuate Turkish citizens in Sudan to Türkiye via Ethiopia continue, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Sources said the Turkish citizens are first transferred from the Sudanese-Ethiopian border to the airport in the border city of Gondar with vehicles provided by the Turkish Embassy in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa.

They then fly to Addis Ababa by planes leased from Ethiopian Airlines and will be brought to Türkiye via the Addis Ababa-Istanbul route, added sources.

The first plane carrying 164 Turkish citizens from Gondar has already arrived in Addis Ababa, it added.

At least 459 people have been killed and 4,072 others injured since April 15, when a conflict broke out in the capital Khartoum and other cities between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.