DHAKA: A group of more than 100 Bangladeshis evacuated from Sudan arrived in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, the first group from the country to be rescued since the eruption of deadly fighting.
More than 500 people have died and thousands injured since fighting erupted between the Sudanese army and paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces on April 15.
Foreign countries began mass evacuations on April 24. However, Bangladesh started much later and left hundreds waiting for about a week before they were moved from the Sudanese capital Khartoum to Port Sudan.
“The first batch of 135 Bangladeshi people landed in Jeddah this afternoon. They will take the next flight to Dhaka tonight,” Mohammed Javed Patwary, Bangladesh’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, told Arab News.
The group is scheduled to leave Jeddah on a six-hour flight with Biman Bangladesh Airlines early on Monday, Patwary said, adding that his team has been working closely with Saudi authorities to streamline evacuation efforts.
Anisur Rahman, who worked as a manager in Khartoum and is president of the Bangladesh-Sudan Friendship Council, told Arab News by phone from Port Sudan that the Bangladeshi evacuees have been waiting in Port Sudan since May 2.
“We are happy that finally the first batch of 135 stranded Bangladeshis including women, children, and people with health concerns have been able to take flight to Jeddah through a military aircraft of Saudi Arabia,” Rahman said.
“However, around 650 remaining Bangladeshis are still waiting in uncertainty as we don’t know when the next ship or flight will be available for us.”
