WNAM REPORT: Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has evacuated 926 citizens from Sudan following an artillery attack in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur.
“Around 40 others have chosen to stay in Sudan for work or family reasons,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi said in Jakarta on Friday.
She made the remarks after accompanying President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) received a courtesy call from Sudanese Acting Foreign Minister Hussein Awad Ali Mohammed.
During the event, Jokowi expressed his gratitude for the assistance provided by the Sudanese authorities during the evacuation of Indonesian citizens, according to Marsudi.
“The evacuation was challenging because it involved a large number of people, and the situation was very unfavorable,” she added.
The Sudanese authorities informed the Indonesian government that the Indonesian embassy, previously located in Khartoum, has been relocated to Port Sudan due to security concerns.
“We appreciated the Sudanese authority,” she said. “They said the Indonesian embassy is still in Khartoum, but for security reasons, it is currently operating from Port Sudan.”
The number of people fleeing Sudan has reached 4 million, she added.
Besides facing war tensions, Sudan is currently grappling with various health challenges, including the handling of monkeypox, dengue, malaria, and malnutrition.
Anadolu reported that there have been clashes between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in El Fasher since May 10, despite international warnings to end the fighting in the city, which serves as a humanitarian operations center for the vast western Darfur region.
Since mid-April last year, the Sudanese army and the RSF have been involved in a conflict that has claimed 18,800 lives and displaced around 10 million people, according to the United Nations.
