Indonesia Evacuates 538 Citizens in Sudan

Indonesian Government evacuates citizens in Sudan. (Photo by: PR of Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno LP Marsudi said that the Indonesian Government is working to evacuate 538 Indonesian citizens in Sudan.

“Thank God, 538 Indonesian citizens have arrived in the city of Port Sudan safe and sound at 01.00 local time or 06.00 Western Indonesian Time,” she said in her press statement, Monday (04/24).

As many as 538 Indonesian citizens consisting 273 women, 240 men, and 25 infants are evacuated due to violent conflict in Sudan. The evacuees are coming from different backgrounds, such as university students, migrant workers, employees of food manufacturing company PT Indofood, and staff of Indonesian Embassy in Sudan and the families.

“This is phase one of the evacuation that is led by Indonesian Ambassador in Khartoum. The evacuation involved 8 buses and one Embassy’s mini bus,” she said adding that the evacuees departed from Khartoum to Port Sudan on Sunday (04/23) at 08.00 local time.

Currently, she said, they are resting at a shelter in Port Sudan before returning to Indonesia via Jeddah.

She affirmed that the Government of Indonesia continues to establish communication with the authorities in Sudan to ensure safe passage and security for Indonesian citizens. The Indonesian Ambassador in Saudi Arabia and the Consulate General in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia also communicated with local authorities to ensure that the follow-up process went well.

Moreover, said Retno, a small team for evacuation assistance is also on the move. The team is made up of personnel from Foreign Ministry in Jakarta that is led by ​Director for the Protection of Indonesian Citizens and Legal Entities, as well as assistance teams from Riyadh and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

“This morning, the evacuation team consisting of Defense Forces’ security team and health team, as well as personnel of the Foreign Affairs Ministry will head to Jeddah on Indonesian Air Force aircraft,” she stated.

According to the Minister, the Government will also conduct evacuation phase two to 289 Indonesian citizens who are still in Sudan.

“Initially, we are planned to evacuate all Indonesian citizens during ceasefire. However, it cannot be done in one phase since there is fuel restrictions for buses that will transport Indonesian citizens and other evacuees,” she said.

Retno also called on all Indonesian citizens in Sudan to report their whereabouts to the Indonesian Embassy in Khartoum so they will be evacuated during the second phase.

“The Government will do the utmost to bring Indonesian citizens out of the conflict area safely,” she concluded. (UN) (RAS/MUR)