Bangladeshis in Sudan to be brought back via Jeddah

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is hoping that it will be possible to bring the Bangladeshis staying in Sudan to Port Sudan by May 2. The Ministry also expects that the Bangladeshis will reach Jeddah by May 3 or 4.

On Saturday (April 29), the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sehli Sabreen, gave this information.

The spokesman said that the conflict between the members of the Sudanese army and paramilitary forces has been going on since April 15. In the last two weeks, this conflict has taken a terrible shape. About four hundred people have been killed so far. In addition to civilians, they include UN staff, Egypt's Assistant Defense Adviser. The government of Bangladesh has already started the process of bringing back the Bangladeshis staying in Sudan from Sudan.

Seheli Sabreen said that there are about 1500 Bangladeshis in Sudan. Among them, about 700 Bangladeshis have expressed their desire to return to the country. There is currently a ceasefire between the two forces, but even within the ceasefire there are reports of sporadic clashes at different places. The stranded Bangladeshis will first be brought back from Khartoum to Port Sudan and from Port Sudan to Jeddah. Arrangements are being made to bring these Bangladeshis to Dhaka by Bangladesh Biman flights from Jeddah.

He said that Bangladesh's acting ambassador in Sudan has already arranged nine buses to transport Bangladeshis from Khartoum and its surrounding cities to Port Sudan, which is 850 kilometers away from Khartoum. A team from the Bangladesh Consulate General in Jeddah will arrive in Sudan tomorrow (Sunday) to assist the embassy.

The spokesperson said that the Saudi government has promised to provide free Saudi Navy ships to transport the Bangladeshis from Port Sudan to Jeddah. It is expected to be possible to bring all the Bangladeshis to Port Sudan by May 2. The ambassador is currently in Port Sudan for talks to finalize the matter. It is expected that the Bangladeshis will reach Jeddah by May 3 or May 4.

Seheli Sabreen said that food, drink, medicine and temporary accommodation have been arranged for Sudanese expatriates in two Bangladesh schools in Jeddah. After traveling from Khartoum to Port Sudan for about 12 hours, keeping in mind that the expatriates do not have any physical problems, food, drinks, medicine and temporary accommodation are being arranged for the expatriates by the Bangladesh Embassy in Port Sudan.

He said that the process of bringing Bangladeshis back to Dhaka on the special flight of Bangladesh Biman will start from the day the Sudanese expatriates reach Jeddah.

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