Harare (New Ziana)-The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade has managed to secure buses to evacuate Zimbabwean nationals to the Port of Sudan in the United Nations convoy as fighting between the army and a paramilitary force, which has killed over 400 people, rages on, an official has said.
In a statement, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade spokesperson Livit Mugejo said Zimbabweans were among multiple nationals to have joined a UN convoy to the Port of Sudan, 850 kilometres from the capital Khartoum.
He said over the past few weeks since the conflict broke out, the Ministry undertook a comprehensive exercise to reach out to all Zimbabweans in Sudan to establish their current situations and to ascertain their immediate needs, including the possibility of evacuation.
“An estimated 100 Zimbabwean residents in Sudan have reported safe but some have indicated their desire to be repatriated from Sudan. The Ministry has managed to secure buses to evacuate our nationals to the Port of Sudan in the UN convoy.
“The closure of airports has affected the ability of the Ministry to urgently assist with the repatriation of Zimbabweans in fulfilment of its mandate of protecting the interests and safety of Zimbabwean nationals abroad. A contingency fund has already been disbursed to the Embassy to facilitate the evacuation of our nationals.”
Mugejo said the Ministry would continue to engage the Sudanese government to ensure that Zimbabweans who wanted to leave the country were able to safely return home.
In a separate update on Tuesday, Information, Media and Broadcasting Services permanent secretary Ndavaningi Mangwana said the 101 nationals had been safely evacuated from Sudan.
“Zimbabweans evacuated from Sudan are now on a sea vessel bound for a 3rd country, from where arrangements are being made for them to be picked up by Air Zimbabwe,” he said in a tweet.
The power struggle in Sudan has seen heavy bombardment in the capital city, with hundreds killed and thousands more injured.
The near-constant shooting and bombing in Khartoum and elsewhere has cut electricity and safe access to food and water for much of the population.
Several ceasefires that had been agreed by the two sides were ignored, including a three-day pause to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which started on Friday.
Meanwhile several other countries have evacuated their diplomats and citizens from the Sudanese capital.
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