6 Iraqis evacuated from Sudan to Saudi Arabia

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Baghdad’s foreign ministry said on Friday that six Iraqis have been evacuated from Sudan to Saudi Arabia, bringing the total number of Iraqis who have escaped the conflict-hit nation close to 300. 

“Six citizens have been evacuated from Sudan to Jeddah in coordination with Saudi authorities,” the ministry said in a tweet. 

Intense fighting in Sudan between forces of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the commander of the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), more commonly known as Hemeti, has killed at least 500 people and thousands others, according to figures from Sudan’s health ministry. An Iraqi national is among the dead. 

Ahmed al-Sahaf, spokesperson for the foreign ministry, said on Monday that “288 people from the Iraqi community in Sudan have been evacuated, including 16 Syrian citizens.” Iraq has set up two phone numbers for its citizens residing in Sudan to register their requests for evacuation.

Sudan’s neighbors have begun receiving people fleeing the country. The United Nations on Friday called on these governments not to return Sudanese to their home country. 

"We're advising governments not to return people to Sudan because of the conflict that's going on there," Elizabeth Tan, UNHCR's director of international protection, said during a press briefing, reported DW.