Sudan evacuates citizens from CAR and South Sudan

Sudan decided to evacuate its nationals from the Central African Republic (CAR) on Sunday. Sudanese citizens in South Sudan’s Bentiu, the capital of Unity State, have also been transferred. Abdelaziz Mohamed Saleh, director of the Consulates Department at the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared in a press statement that two flights by a private jet will airlift about 275 Sudanese citizens from CAR, owing to the ongoing violent conflicts there. Transports from South Sudan Saleh also announced the arrival of about 20 Sudanese nationals from Juba to Khartoum on Saturday, with a regular commercial airline. 200 others, most of them from Bor in war-torn Jonglei, flew back from Juba to Khartoum on Monday. The Foreign Ministry official also confirmed the evacuation of all Sudanese citizens from Bentiu. They were transported to Heglig, from where they are travelling to Khartoum. On 27 December, the head of the Bambre camp for Sudanese refugees in CAR told Radio Dabanga that the camp residents fear for their lives because of the fighting in the country, and requested the UN to move the camp to a safer place.  File photo: Citizens fleeing Juba by aeroplane (ctvnews.ca) Related: CAR fighters, including Sudanese, cross border to Central Darfur (27 December 2013)