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Sudan escape saga continues for 22 South Africans still stranded on boat
It has come to light that some South Africans who fled war-torn Sudan have been stuck on a boat in Port Safaga for days.
A group of South Africans who crossed from Port Sudan to Jeddah. Photo via Twitter @ClaysonMonyela
Gift of the Givers revealed on Monday 1 May that almost two dozen South Africans nationals are still stranded in Port Safaga, Egypt. This after , after the outbreak of violence in Sudan two weeks ago.
The latest update from the non-governmental humanitarian organisation which assisted the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) in its evacuation efforts, is the first mention of an additional 22 South Africans who still need to make it to safety after fleeing from Sudan.
ALSO READ: Sudan: Raging battle sparks mass evacuations by countries
Dirco: All South Africans on ‘database’ home from Sudan
Dirco had updated the figure to a total of 66 evacuees who landed back home over the weekend from Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Following the arrival of 53 nationals from Egypt at OR Tambo International Airport on Sunday, Dirco spokesperson Clayson Monyela told the media all South Africans who were on their database in Sudan had safely landed back home.
“So, my understanding from my report we got from the team yesterday is that everybody that we had on our database is home,” Monyela said.
ALSO READ: Sudan latest: South Africans and ‘war dogs’ to arrive in SA
Gift of the Givers: Evacuation ‘not over yet’
Gift of the Givers founder Imtiaz Sooliman told EWN they notified government immediately on the new information they have received.
“The process of evacuating South Africans from Sudan is not over yet. Gift of the Givers received a call right now from a group of 22 South Africans caught up in Safaga Port in Egypt. We are busy forwarding this information to Dirco.”
It is understood that the group fled from Port Sudan to Safaga in Egypt a few days ago.
The boat they were trapped on was apparently charted by the company that employed them for a project in Port Sudan last September.
The group have been awaiting clearance to catch a flight from Cairo back home.
Dirco to assist with clearances
Monyela told News24 the department would intervene to get the required clearances.
“We are, however, glad that the group is out of Sudan and not in harm’s way. We are also noting that their employer has so far been responsive, covering all costs and ensuring that their employees are taken care of.”
Sudan at war
On 15 April, clashes broke out between rival military factions in Sudan as a result of a power struggle within the country’s military leadership.
Military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, were fighting over the planned integration of Daglo’s Rapid Support Forces into the regular army.
— Additional reporting AFP
