Türkiye evacuates nearly 2,000 Turkish citizens from Sudan amid conflict

By Faruk Zorlu

ANKARA (AA) – Türkiye has evacuated a total of 2,382 people, including 1,961 Turkish citizens, from Sudan during the ongoing clashes between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 15.

"We have evacuated a total of 2382 individuals, including 1961 Turkish citizens, so far. We express our gratitude to all institutions that supported our evacuation efforts. We stand by our citizens at all times," the Foreign Ministry said on Twitter.

According to the statistics provided in the shared graphic, 1,961 of the evacuees were Turkish citizens, while the remaining 421 people came from 24 different countries.

Furthermore, out of the total evacuees, 1,478 were transported through Ethiopia, 48 through Egypt, and 59 through Saudi Arabia. Military aircraft were used to evacuate 715 people from Port Sudan on the Red Sea and 82 from Wadi Sayyidna, 22 kilometers (14 miles) north of Khartoum.

The disagreement that started over the paramilitary group's integration into the armed forces, a key condition of Sudan's transition agreement with political groups, boiled into a full-blown conflict on April 15, when fighting erupted in the capital Khartoum.

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."

The transitional period, which started in August 2019 after the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir, had been scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.

Millions of people are now facing a humanitarian disaster, and are in need of assistance.