A boat carrying 1,687 passengers from more than 50 nations fleeing turmoil in Sudan arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. According to the foreign ministry, marking the Gulf kingdom’s largest rescue mission to date.
The party was “transported by one of the Kingdom’s ships. And the Kingdom was keen to provide all basic needs of foreign nationals in preparation for their departure,” according to a statement from the ministry.
On 15 April, fighting erupted in Sudan between soldiers loyal to army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy turned opponent Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, commander of the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support soldiers (RSF).
According to UN agencies, at least 459 people had been killed. More than 4,000 had been injured in Africa’s third-largest country as of Tuesday.
A three-day ceasefire arranged by the US brought some calm to the city. But witnesses reported fresh air strikes and paramilitaries claiming control of a key oil refinery and power station.
Saudi Arabia has received numerous waves of evacuation by air and water. Beginning with boats carrying 150 individuals, including international ambassadors and officials, that arrived in Jeddah on Saturday.
A C-130 Hercules military plane airlifted hundreds of South Korean citizens to Jeddah’s King Abdullah Air Base on Monday. While a boat transported around 200 individuals from 14 countries across the Red Sea from Port Sudan.
Thirteen of the civilians who arrived on Wednesday came from Saudi Arabia. While the remainder came from the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia, and North and Central America, according to a foreign ministry statement.
According to the announcement, 2,148 persons have been evacuated from Sudan, including more than 2,000 foreigners.