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Zimbabwe has successfully evacuated its citizens from conflict-hit Sudan via a ship departing from Port Sudan to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a senior Government official has said.
Those evacuated are expected to be transported back home Air Zimbabwe anytime.
Posting on his official twitter account, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Permanent Secretary Mr Nick Mangwana yesterday said: “Zimbabweans evacuated from Sudan are now on a sea vessel bound for a 3rd country, from where arrangements are being made by @MoFA_ZW for them to be picked up by @FlyAirZimbabwe. The Nation will be kept updated of any developments.”
Mr Mangwana announced that a total of 101 Zimbabweans were being evacuated, but he made no mention of a timetable for when they would land in Zimbabwe.
Later on the day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade spokesperson Mr Livit Mugejo said Government had managed to secure its citizens from Sudan.
“His Excellency Cde ED Mnangagwa’s Government has managed to secure Zimbabwean citizens from Sudan, as we speak now we have managed to bring them to Jeddah and they are now waiting to be transported. We are now looking for transport to take them back to Zimbabwe,” he said.
“Our citizens are very secure and our Government and their Government are now organising few logistics to transport them from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to Zimbabwe, the Government of Cde ED Mnangagwa is leaving no stone unturned until all citizens are safe and secure.”
The evacuation was carried out in coordination between the Zimbabwean embassy and the Saudi embassy in Sudan.
Meanwhile, the Sudanese Embassy in Zimbabwe yesterday condemned the ongoing violence in that country, which violates international diplomacy despite a 72-hour truce announced by the United Nations.
A vicious power struggle between the regular army and a powerful paramilitary force has led to violence across Sudan for more than a week.
In a statement yesterday, the Sudanese Embassy said the skirmishes had destroyed vital infrastructure throughout the country.
“The Embassy of the Republic of The Sudan in Zimbabwe consoles all those who lost their loved ones in the unfortunate crisis in Sudan that started with the mutiny of the Rapid Support Forces on April 15 in a foiled coup d’état,” said the Embassy.
“May Allah (SWT) accept them as martyrs and give their families strength and patience. The Sudanese Armed Forces were able to repel the rebels from most of the locations they controlled at the beginning of the coup. Intermittent skirmishes are taking place at few pockets in which there are still remnants of rebels in Khartoum State.
“The Sudan Armed Forces are cautiously approaching these locations to avoid casualties among civilians. Life is going normally in all the 18 states of the Sudan except these few pockets.
“The rebels destroyed vital civilian infrastructure at Khartoum International Airport and in other areas and took citizens as human shields. After losing their supply bases in Khartoum, they went into a rampant campaign of looting public and private properties: terrorising innocent civilians; harassing medical and humanitarian staff, bombarding hospitals and water and power facilities; targeting humanitarian convoys and ambulances and killing three humanitarian workers; taking hospitals as launching pads for their attacks.”
The rebels also attacked some diplomatic missions and a convoy of the American Embassy in Khartoum.
Further, Embassy said the barbaric crimes of the rebels warranted strong condemnation by the international community, as they represented flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.
“The foiled coup d’état and rebels’ crimes caused an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Khartoum,” it said. “The latter was aggravated by the persistent violations of the humanitarian truces by the rebels. Sudan is looking forward to cooperating with the international community in this vital area.
“While discharging its constitutional mandate to stabilise the country, the Government of Sudan is determined to enhance cooperation with its regional and international partners in the fields of regional peace and security, countering terrorism and combating ill immigration and transnational organised crime, contributing to food security in the Arab world is a promising area of cooperation in the coming period.”