Fighting between government forces and rebels continues for the sixth day in Sudan, North Africa, with hundreds of deaths reaching an extreme danger. The South Korean government is considering using military transport planes to evacuate local residents if the fighting escalates further.
An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs met with reporters on the 20th and said, “There are 25 Korean nationals staying (in Sudan), including diplomatic staff and their families, KOICA officials, and expatriates from companies.” I’m doing it, but I’m safe,” he said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been checking the safety of Koreans every day by setting up a countermeasure team for Korean nationals residing abroad since the 15th, when the fighting between government forces and rebels across Sudan began.
If the situation worsens, the government is said to be considering evacuating the Koreans to local missions or sending them back to Korea by military transport plane or civil aviation charter. An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “We are reviewing various scenarios to evacuate our people to a safe place while watching the situation in Sudan.”
Kyodo News reported on the 20th that the Japanese government announced on the 20th that it would send a transport plane of the Self-Defense Forces to the neighboring country of Djibouti to evacuate its citizens in Sudan. It is said that about 60 Japanese are currently residing in Sudan.
The incident was sparked by a power struggle between General Abdel Fattah Burhan, the current leader of the Sudanese military, and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who leads the militia Rapid Support Force (RSF). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 300 people died and 3,000 were injured in the first five days. The government forces and rebels tried to reach an agreement on a ceasefire for the third time on the 19th, but it failed again, raising concerns that it could escalate into a full-scale civil war.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.