Marcos: Gov’t working to evacuate Filipinos from conflict-hit Sudan

MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Saturday, April 22, that the Philippine government is preparing plans to evacuate Filipinos trapped in Sudan, where a power struggle has resulted in deadly fighting between the military and a paramilitary group.

In a statement released on Saturday night, Marcos said the government is collecting more information to ensure the safety of around 300 Filipinos in the African country.

“We are just waiting to get better information as to whether or not it will be safe to bring our evacuees out of Khartoum, perhaps into Cairo,” the President said.

Marcos also noted that none of the airports in Sudan were functioning.

“Also, we cannot ascertain a secure land route for them to leave. It is a long road from Khartoum to Cairo, which is where our embassy is, that is in charge also of Khartoum and Sudan,” Marcos added. 

On April 15, Sudan’s paramilitary group, Rapid Support Forces (RSF), seized the presidential palace and the Khartoum airport in an apparent coup attempt. The group claimed the Sudan army attacked them first. At the height of the conflict, the RSF accused the Sudan army of carrying out a plot by loyalists of ousted former president Omar Hassan al-Bashir.

The paramilitary is headed by former militia leader, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti. Since 2019, Hemedti has been the deputy leader of Sudan’s Sovereign Council.

Six days after the conflict started, the two groups had agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire. The temporary accord should have started at 6 am on Friday, April 21, to coincide with the observation of Eid’l Fitr. However, as of Friday, residents in Sudan’s capital reported gunfire incidents.

On Saturday, Sudan’s army agreed to help in evacuating foreign nationals from the country as gunfire and air strikes continued to ravage the African country. The World Health Organization said at least 413 people had been killed, while 3,551 were injured, as of April 21. – with reports from Reuters/Rappler.com