FG commences evacuation of Nigerians from Sudan to Egypt

The federal government says it has commenced the evacuation of Nigerians from Sudan to neighboring Egypt by road following days of hostilities.

This was announced by Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, NiDCOM.

She said the federal government had transferred the money through the Central Bank of Nigeria via the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyema said over forty luxury buses are on standby and necessary authorisation and security clearance have been secured from the Sudanese government for a seamless process.

He added that no Nigerian life has been lost in the conflict so far.

The Minister also assured that women ,children and the vulnerable will be given priority during the evacuation process

Geoffrey Onyeama also confirmed that through coordinated efforts, some Nigerians have been evacuated by ship to Saudi Arabia and Jedah.

Since the fighting erupted over a week ago, nearly 500 people have been killed and almost 4,100 injured, the UN said.

Several countries including UK, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, France amongst others have been able to evacuate their citizens from torn Sudan.

Four attempts at a ceasefire failed last week, however, the U.S. was able to broker a partial ceasefire that enabled more countries to evacuate and the Sudanese to run to safety.

There are no signs that the warring parties in Sudan are ready to seriously negotiate an end to fighting, UN envoy to Sudan Volker Perthes told a UN Security Council meeting in New York City on Tuesday.