Sudan unrest | Over 150 people arrive in Jeddah: Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry

In the first officially confirmed evacuation of civilians since conflict started, the Saudi foreign ministry has reported that more than 150 people, including foreign diplomats and officials, have been rescued from the war-torn Sudan and have arrived in Jeddah.

According to a statement from the foreign ministry, the evacuation was carried out by the kingdom's naval forces with assistance from other army units. 

It announced the “safe arrival” of 91 Saudi citizens and around 66 nationals from 12 other countries – Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Tunisia, Pakistan, India, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Canada and Burkina Faso, as reported by Al Jazeera.

Former EU ambassador James Moran tells Al Jazeera that during evacuations in Libya during the Arab Spring, "the situation was pretty catastrophic but not quite as serious as the situation in Khartoum" because the major cities in Libya had access to a port.

“Everyone was on the coast and it was possible to use ships to get people out [by sea]. In the case of Sudan, Khartoum is 800km from the port; it’s very difficult under those circumstances to get people out of Khartoum across to the coast. It’s a long way, so you’re going to have to depend here primarily on airlift,” Moran said.

"The number of citizens who were evacuated reached 91 citizens, while the number of people who were evacuated from brotherly and friendly countries reached approximately 66, representing the following nationalities (Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Tunisia, Pakistan, India, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Canada, and Burkina Faso). The Kingdom worked to provide all the necessary needs of foreign nationals in preparation for their departure to their countries," Saudi Arabia informed in a release. 

 A top World Food Programme (WFP) official working in Chad has said the country needs more support for the influx of refugees crossing from Sudan. 

“It’s going to be extremely difficult if we don’t get support. We already have 400,000 Sudanese refugees in 14 camps alongside that border,” the official was quoted as saying by Al-Jazeera. 

Saudi state television on Saturday announced that evacuation of citizens had began in Sudan after the fighting began last week. 

"The first evacuation vessel from Sudan has arrived, carrying 50 (Saudi) citizens and a number of nationals from friendly countries," noted the channel. 

The recent fighting between the Sudanese army and paramilitary has not been limited to the capital city of Khartoum as the country's western desert region of Darfur has witnessed increased violence.

According to a report by Reuters, Darfur which borders with Chad has suffered warfare from 2003 that has killed as many as 300,000 people and displaced 2.7 million. 

Meanwhile, a United Nations humanitarian update on Saturday said looters had taken at least 10 World Food Programme vehicles and six other food trucks after overrunning the agency's offices and warehouses in Nyala, in south Darfur.

Citing the Saudi state broadcaster, news agency AFP reported that Saudis, and other nationals evacuated from Sudan have arrived in Jeddah. This comes as the army had previously agreed, on Saturday, to help evacuate foreign nationals. 

United States, Britain, France and China would evacuate diplomats and other nationals from Khartoum "in the coming hours," said the army. They added Saudi Arabians and Jordanians were leaving by air via Port Sudan which is some 650 kilometres from Khartoum. 

Previously, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia had announced the start of the arrangement for the evacuation of Saudi citizens and several nationals of brotherly and friendly countries from the Republic of Sudan to the Kingdom.

"The first evacuation vessel from Sudan has arrived, carrying 50 (Saudi) citizens and a number of nationals from friendly countries," the official Al-Ekhbariyah television said, as per AFP.

(Photos: Reuters)

According to the Sudanese doctors union, early Saturday, over two thirds of hospitals in conflict areas were out of service with 32 forcibly evacuated by soldiers or caught in crossfire. This comes as 413 people have been killed and 3,551 wounded due to the ongoing fighting, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics. 

As sporadic gunfire and air strikes echoed across the Sudanese capital city of Khartoum, the country's army, on Saturday (April 22) agreed to help evacuate foreign nationals.

This comes as the two warring sides had called for a 72-hour ceasefire as the ongoing fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continues for a week now. 

A statement by the army citing army chief Abdel Fatteh al-Burhan came after promises by rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, to open airports for evacuations, reported Reuters