VIDEO: Saudi evacuates foreign nationals and diplomats from war-hit Sudan
Saudi Royal Navy officials at Jeddah Sea Port welcome citizens of Saudi Arabia and people from other nationalities. Reuters
Dozens of Saudis and nationals of other countries arrived by sea in the city of Jeddah, in the first announced evacuation of civilians from Sudan since the outbreak of battles between the army and the Rapid Support Forces a week ago, according to the Saudi official media.
Saudi media reported the arrival of the first evacuation ship from Sudan, which included 50 citizens and number foreign nationals.
It announced the "safe arrival" of 91 Saudi citizens and around 66 nationals from 12 other countries — Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, Egypt, Tunisia, Pakistan, India, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, the Philipines, Canada and Burkina Faso.
Saudi media footage showed warships upon their arrival at the port of King Faisal Naval Base in the city, located in the west of the Kingdom.
The footage showed women and children carrying small Saudi flags on board a ship, while members of the Saudi forces welcomed others as they disembarked from a ship, offering them flowers and pieces of sweets.
Among those who arrived in Jeddah was the crew of a Saudi Airlines plane that was damaged in the fighting, as it was preparing to take off from Khartoum airport on the day the clashes began on April 15.
The media said there were "special scenes" of the evacuation process in the city of Port Sudan, in which a convoy of cars, most of them four-wheel drive, appeared, advancing on a semi-desert road, accompanied by wheels equipped with heavy machine guns.
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced, earlier on Saturday, the start of arranging the evacuation of Saudi citizens and a number of nationals of brotherly and friendly countries from the Republic of Sudan to the Kingdom.
Since April 15, Sudan has been witnessing clashes between the army, led by Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, led by Lieutenant General Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo, known as "Hamidti," which resulted in hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries.
On Saturday morning, the sounds of gunfire and explosions were heard again in Khartoum, after a decrease in the intensity of the fighting on Friday night, following the declaration of a temporary truce between the two fighting parties.
