A ship carrying 37 Pakistani nationals from Sudan \u2014 where fighting between the army and paramilitaries has killed and wounded hundreds \u2014 arrived in Saudi Arabia\u2019s Jeddah on Wednesday, the Foreign Office (FO) said.
\n\u201cEvacuation plan for Pakistani nationals in Sudan continues. The ship carrying 37 Pakistani nationals from Port Sudan arrives in Jeddah,\u201d it said in a tweet.
\n\u201cThey were received by CG in Jeddah, Khalid Majid on arrival at Jeddah Port. We are grateful to the Government of KSA for its support & hospitality,\u201d the FO added.
\nAccording to the Saudi Arabia Foreign Ministry, the boat with 1,687 civilians from more than 50 countries arrived in the kingdom today, which is the largest rescue effort by the Gulf state to date.
\nThe group was \u201ctransported by one of the Kingdom\u2019s ships, and the Kingdom was keen to provide all the basic needs of foreign nationals in preparation for their departure,\u201d it said in a statement.
\nIn another statement, the FO said that \u201canother convoy of 200 Pakistanis has arrived safely in Port Sudan\u201d. It added that the \u201cEmbassy of Pakistan in Sudan will continue to facilitate their stay in Port Sudan and arrange their eventual repatriation\u201d.
\nFighting broke out in Sudan on April 15 between forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy-turned-rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
\nAt least 459 people had been killed and more than 4,000 as of Tuesday across Africa\u2019s third-biggest country, according to UN agencies.
\nA three-day US-brokered ceasefire between the warring generals brought some calm to the capital on Tuesday, but witnesses reported fresh air strikes and paramilitaries claimed to have seized a major oil refinery and power plant.
\nSaudi Arabia has received several rounds of evacuees by air and sea, starting with boats that arrived in Jeddah on Saturday carrying 150 people including foreign diplomats and officials.
\nOn Monday, a C-130 Hercules military plane flew dozens of South Korean civilians to Jeddah\u2019s King Abdullah Air Base, and a boat ferried nearly 200 people from 14 countries across the Red Sea from Port Sudan.
\nThirteen of the civilians who arrived on Wednesday were Saudi, while the rest came from countries across the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia and North and Central America, the foreign ministry statement said.
\nAll told, 2,148 people have been evacuated to the kingdom from Sudan so far, including more than 2,000 foreigners, the statement added.
\nA day earlier, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had said that more than 200 Pakistanis were evacuated to safety in chaos-torn Sudan, bringing the total number of rescued nationals to 700.
\n\u201cIn keeping with the commitment of the Government of Pakistan to the welfare of overseas Pakistanis, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues to lead in the relief and rescue of Pakistanis in Sudan. Today, another convoy carrying 211 Pakistanis dispatched from Khartoum has arrived in Port Sudan,\u201d the minister said in a statement.
\nShaky ceasefire
\nThe ceasefire between Sudan\u2019s warring generals entered its second day today but remained fragile after witnesses reported fresh air strikes and paramilitaries claimed to have seized a major oil refinery and power plant.
\n\u201cThe pause was not fully upheld, with attacks on headquarters, attempts to gain ground, air strikes, and explosions in different areas of the capital,\u201d UN Special Representative Volker Perthes told the Security Council a day earlier.
\nPerthes said he maintained contact with both generals: army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy-turned-rival, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the heavily armed paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
\n\u201cThere is yet no unequivocal sign that either is ready to seriously negotiate,\u201d Perthes said.
\nSecurity fears were compounded when the World Health Organization (WHO) warned of a \u201chuge biological risk\u201d after fighters occupied a Khartoum laboratory holding samples of cholera, measles, polio and other infectious diseases.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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