Saudi Arabia evacuates over 4,870 people from conflict-torn Sudan

ANKARA

Saudi Arabia said Saturday it had evacuated 4,879 people from conflict-torn Sudan amid ongoing clashes between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

According to state news agency SPA, 12 Saudis and 1,866 foreigners arrived in the city of Jeddah from Sudan on Saturday aboard a Saudi ship.

“This brings the total number of evacuees from Sudan since the evacuation process began to 4,879 persons,” SPA said.

At least 512 people have been killed and more than 4,000 injured in clashes between the Sudanese army and its rival RSF paramilitary since April 15, according to the Health Ministry.

A disagreement had been fomenting in recent months between the army and the paramilitaries over military security reform. The reform envisages full RSF participation in the military, one of the main issues in negotiations by international and regional parties for a transition to civilian, democratic rule in Sudan.

Sudan has been without a functioning government since October 2021, when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s transitional government and declared a state of emergency in a move decried by political forces as a “coup.”

Sudan’s transitional period, which started in August 2019, was scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi in Ankara