Iran places high priority on evacuating citizens from Sudan

April 25, 2023 - 20:46

TEHRAN- Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Monday evening that it is working on appropriate plans to safely evacuate Iranian citizens from Sudan, where fighting has raged for more than a week between the army and a rival paramilitary group.

It said that from the start of the crisis in Sudan, the ministry has coordinated the necessary actions for the evacuation of Iranian people from Sudan.

The Foreign Ministry further stated that monitoring and dealing with the predicament and safety of Iranian expats considered a top concern.

Other nations have also hurried to evacuate their people from Sudan, including Western, Arab, and Asian governments.

Since April 15, the country in northeastern Africa has seen violence between the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Al Jazeera reported on Monday that warring factions in Sudan have agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire.

The Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) said the U.S. and Saudi Arabia mediated the truce. It was scheduled to start at midnight local time (22:00 GMT Monday).

Fighting erupted between the army and the RSF on April 15 and has killed at least 427 people, knocked out hospitals and other services, and turned residential areas into war zones. Millions of people remain trapped in their homes in the capital Khartoum and are running short on food and water.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the violence in a country that flanks the Red Sea, Horn of Africa and Sahel regions “risks a catastrophic conflagration … that could engulf the whole region and beyond”.