EU countries evacuate their nationals from Sudan with Jordanian help

Jordan provided vital logistical and aerial support to several countries which succeeded in evacuating their stranded nationals from war-torn Sudan over the past week.

“The UK, Italy, Germany, Netherlands and Sweden are among many countries assisted in rescuing their citizens in Sudan,” a senior diplomat said Monday.

He noted that the Jordanian authorities provided essential travel logistics to ensure a safe evacuation of Western countries’ citizens.

This comes as the situation worsens as fighting in Sudan enters its 10th day, sparking operations to evacuate foreigners by land, air and sea.

- Netherlands thanks Jordan -

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands tweeted: "Very grateful to the Jordanian government and my dear colleague @AymanHsafadi for hosting our Ambassador @irmavandueren, and staff from @DutchMFA and @Defensie. Thanks to your hospitality, they are able to monitor the difficult situation in #Sudan."

To which Safadi replied: "It is the least we can do dear @WBHoekstra. We are friends and partners and we stand by each other. We pray for the safe and successful repatriation of all foreign residents of #Sudan as well as for the safety of the Sudanese people and the stability of their country."

- Jordan's rescue efforts -

The first Jordanian evacuation planes from Sudan arrived at Amman Airport Sunday night.

The planes carried on board 343 passengers including Jordanians, Palestinians, Iraqis, Syrians, and Germans.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates announced earlier that day that four planes of the Royal Jordanian Air Force took off from Port Sudan International Airport heading to Marka Military Airport in the capital, under royal directives.

On Twitter, the ministry earlier announced the started of evacuation efforts saying: "In implementation of the royal directives to take all necessary measures to ensure the security and safety of Jordanian citizens residing in the brotherly Republic of #Sudan, the #Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates announced the start of implementing a plan to evacuate Jordanian citizens in Sudan, taking into account the security conditions and situation on the ground, and in coordination with the brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates."

- Situation in Sudan -

According to UN figures, more than 420 people were killed and thousands of others injured since fighting broke out on April 15.

The heavy fighting broke out between forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy-turned-rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).