A total of 32 Belgians and so-called "beneficiaries" — the core members of their family — have been evacuated from Sudan, where intense clashes have been ongoing for two weeks.
In the past two weeks, 55 Belgians and beneficiaries in Sudan have registered with the FPS Foreign Affairs, the service's spokesperson Wouter Poels said, however that number could rise.
Most of them want to leave the country, Poels noted, adding that the operation to repatriate them is ongoing. Several people are on their way to places from where they can be evacuated. So far, more than 21,000 people have fled Sudan to neighbouring countries, a figure that is expected to increase as the violence continues.
Meanwhile, a plane carrying humanitarian aid arrived in the East African country on Sunday, the International Red Cross. This is the first such plane to reach the country since heavy fighting started in Sudan two weeks ago.
The plane departed from Jordan’s Amman and landed in the city of Port Sudan. It was carrying eight tonnes of emergency aid, including enough medical equipment to treat 1,500 patients, and humanitarian workers.
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On 15 April, amid an apparent power struggle between the two main factions of the military regime, clashes between the Sudan’s military the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the country’s main paramilitary force, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), erupted in western Sudan, in the capital city of Khartoum and in the Darfur region.
At least 560 people have been killed nationwide, and more than 4,000 have been injured, while the clashes have left most hospitals in Sudan out of action.
