FG To Evacuate 5,500 Nigerians From Sudan Via Egypt

The Federal Government is working toward evacuating 5,500 Nigerians trapped in Sudan amid an ongoing battle between the Sudanese Army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The government plans to get the stranded Nigerians back to the country via the Egyptian town of Luxor. Dr. Onimode Bandele, director of special duties at the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and chairman of its Committee for the Evacuation of the Stranded Nigerians from Sudan, disclosed that the Federal Government met Egypt government officials to discuss how to evacuate Nigerians from Sudan via Egypt, according to Nigerian Tribune.

Bandele announced the evacuation plan during an interview with Channels Television on Sunday, Punch reported.

The announcement came after the fight between the Sudanese Army and RSF broke out on April 15 and led to the death of more than 400 people and injured 3,500 more in just a week.

According to the outlet, both sides agreed upon several ceasefires, including a three-day pause for Eid al-Fitr. However, it was ignored and they continued to fight in the streets of Sudan.

Nigerian government explained last week that due to the tense situation in Sudan, they were finding it difficult to evacuate Nigerians from the country.

Abike Dabiri-Erewa, chief executive officer of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, disclosed last week that it was impossible to land any flights during the ongoing war, as all airports were shut in Sudan.

"Let us make it clear that the situation in Sudan is an internal conflict," she clarified on Sunday, as per Punch. "It is not Sudan versus another country. It is two factions against themselves. However, we are in touch with our ambassador in Sudan, and in fact, I spoke to him about two hours ago."

Dabiri-Erewa further explained that the situation didn't allow any country to go and pick up their citizens from Sudan, citing Qatar and France, which tried to move some of their citizens on Saturday and got attacked, as examples.

"The Director-General of NEMA, Mustapha Ahmed, is already in Cairo, and some 30 minutes ago he had a meeting with Ambassador Nura Rimi, the Nigerian Ambassador to Egypt," she continued.

"The Nigerian government is exploring a diplomatic pact with Egypt, to see if Egypt can help us make arrangements to get into Sudan and move our people to safety at a town called Luxor in Egypt," she added. "There is another window too in Addis Ababa, however, that will be explored between Ambassador Rimi and the ambassador in Ethiopia."

Dabiri-Erewa once again doubled down on her statement, noting that nobody who's thinking straight would go directly to Sudan in order to move anybody.

"Mind you, some of those countries that we say had moved their citizens, some of them have fewer than 50 citizens in Sudan, but for Nigeria, if we do an evacuation today, it will be up to thousands," she said further.