Conflict in Sudan: Evacuation of Bangladeshis to start early next month
Around 500 Bangladeshis, who have applied for their return to the country, will be evacuated early next month as it has become unsafe for them to stay in conflict-ridden Sudan.
Many other countries, including the US, the UK, China, France, Saudi Arabia, and international organisations have been evacuating their diplomats and citizens as the Sudanese military and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been fighting in the capital Khartoum and surrounding areas since mid-April.
A disagreement had been fomenting in recent months between the two groups over military security reforms.
The conflict has already left at least 459 people killed and 4,072 injured, according to the World Health Organization.
Charge De Affaires (CDA) of the Bangladesh Embassy in Sudan, Tareq Ahmed, and his family moved out of Khartoum on April 23 and are living some 240km away from the capital, as his residence along with the embassy building came under attacks.
On April 15, the CDA's residence, which close to Khartoum International Airport, had machine gun bullets hitting and piercing through the windows.
On April 22, the Bangladesh embassy building was hit by the bullets, damaging the third-floor wall.
However, no one was hurt in either incident.
The next day, the CDA, along with other officials and staffers, moved out of Khartoum and have been residing at the guest house in a cotton factory owned by a Bangladeshi expatriate there.
Since April 15, local staffers have not been able to go to the embassy premises.
Amid this situation, Bangladesh has decided to evacuate its citizens and instructed them to register online for the purpose.
Speaking to The Daily Star yesterday, CDA Tareq Ahmed said, "Nearly 500 Bangladeshis have registered. We are expecting to start their evacuation in early May."
Initially, the Bangladeshis will be taken to Port Sudan [a city about 700km from Khartoum] by bus and from there they will be taken to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia by ship through the Red Sea.
From Jeddah, they will be flown to Bangladesh with assistance from the Bangladesh mission there, he said.
"Earlier, we had decided to start the evacuation process on April 30. However, as many other countries are also evacuating their nationals through the Port Sudan, there is a shortage of accommodation there. So, we may not be able to arrange proper accommodation if we try to take our citizens there immediately," the CDA said.
"Many [Bangladeshis] might not have proper documents. We will issue travel permits for them at Port Sudan before the ship starts for Jeddah."
He added that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has instructed the Bangladesh mission in Sudan to use the best available options for the evacuation process.
The Bangladeshis will be evacuated in batches, he further said.
Foreign ministry officials said some 1,500 Bangladeshis, who mostly work in the construction or domestic work sectors, are spread across Sudan.
It is not a labour-hiring country, but some Bangladeshis go there and move to other countries like Libya later.
With the scope of such migration now diminished, many who could not move to other countries now stay and work in Sudan, they added.
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