Six hundred and fifty Bangladeshi nationals, being evacuated from war-torn Sudan, are waiting in Port Sudan. Among the evacuees, 135 are being taken to Jeddah of Saudi Arabia by air due to unavailability of ships. The remaining ones will take a ship to the same destination.
Till the filing of this report, 45 Bangladeshis have already left the Port Sudan International Airport on a military aircraft and arrived in Jeddah. Ninety more will arrive in Jeddah by Sunday.
These 135 Bangladeshis will return home on Monday, and the evacuation of women, children and the elderly is being prioritised, confirmed Bangladesh’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Mohammad Javed Patwari.
There are still no updates on how the remaining Bangladeshis stuck in Sudan will be brought home. Patwari had recently met with the Saudi authorities to better facilitate a speedy evacuation of Bangladeshis arriving in Jeddah.
More than 500 people have been killed and 4,200 wounded since infighting began in Sudan on April 15. The country is home to around 1,500 Bangladeshis, and 650 among them have so far expressed interest in returning to Bangladesh.
As violence continues to flare in Sudan, the Bangladesh government requested all Bangladeshis living in the country to return home.
