The government has announced that plans are underway to evacuate Ghanaians from Sudan, where a deadly conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, has resulted in casualties.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration (MFARI) is working with the Ghana Embassy in Cairo, Egypt which has concurrent accreditation to the Sudan and Ghana’s Honorary Consulate in Khartoum, the Sudan capital to secure their safe passage to Ethiopia.
A statement issued by the MFARI on Sunday said all of Ghanaian nationals including students were safe and assured their families and guardians that the government would not leave any stone unturned in ensuring their protection and wellbeing.
“Government wishes to assure the general public, in particular, the families and acquaintances of Ghanaians in the Sudan that every effort is being made to ensure the safety of their loved ones until their arrival in Ghana,” it said.
In the past one week, North African country has been rocked by deadly clash between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces which has resulted in fatalities affected many civilians especially in Khartoum, the epicentre of the conflict.
“The government of Ghana joins the International Community to appeal to the warring factions to cease fire and allow negotiations to resume for the sake of the peace and safety of the People of the Sudan,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, a Deputy Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Minister, Dr Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong, says all the 73 Ghanaian students in Sudan, especially in the Khartoum, have been accounted for and none of them had been harmed.
“Sudan offers scholarship to some Ghanaian students; we have about 73 Ghanaian students in Sudan undertaking university studies especially in Khartoum. Majority of them are in the petrochemical industry,” he said in an interview with TV3 on Sunday.
“So far, we have accounted for all the Ghanaian students, 73, nobody has been harmed, we have all of them safe in a place, then the next batch of Ghanaians are three Ghanaian footballers in Sudan, we have also accounted for them…so put all of them together the plan is to evacuate them.”
In a related development, a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, has announced the safe evacuation of its citizens and other nationals, including diplomats and international officials.
It said the evacuation operation led by Royal Saudi Naval Forces evacuated 91 citizens and 66 others from Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Tunisia, Pakistan, India, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Canada, and Burkina Faso.
“The Kingdom worked to provide all the necessary needs of foreign nationals in preparation for their departure to their countries,” the statement said.
BY JONATHAN DONKOR
