It remains unclear when Dutch people trapped in war-torn Sudan can be evacuated. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in active contact with at least 134 Dutch people and keeps them informed of the state of affairs. It is expected that there are more Dutch people in the African country with whom no contact has yet been made.
There are many risks in an evacuation operation and the ministry emphasizes that on his website. “We cannot predict how things will go. It can take a long time, or suddenly go very fast,” it says in a message. “It is clear that no possible option is without risk. When an opportunity presents itself, you will have to consider for yourself whether you want to and can come along.” The Netherlands has two C-130 Hercules transport aircraft ready in Jordan to evacuate people.
The Dutch are asked to keep information about a possible evacuation attempt secret. “Public access can ensure that an operation becomes extra dangerous or cannot take place itself,” the ministry writes, which emphasizes that it is in contact with other countries. It is not clear which countries these are.
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Other countries
Earlier in the day, the Sudanese army announced it would work to evacuate British, American, French and Chinese diplomats. Some countries have already managed to evacuate nationals in ships from the coastal city of Port Sudan. It concerns 150 people, the majority of whom come from Saudi Arabia. Italy announced on Saturday that it had also evacuated Italians from Port Sudan. They are now in neighboring Egypt.
In conversation with Al Jazeera James Moran, former EU ambassador to North Africa, says evacuating people from Khartoum via Port Sudan is difficult due to the 800 kilometers separating the Sudanese capital from the port city. “Under those circumstances it is very difficult to bring people from Khartoum to the coast. It’s a long way, so you mainly depend on air transport here,” says Moran. He emphasizes that none of the airports in Khartoum is currently safe enough for planes to land.