Indonesia to Evacuate 827 Nationals from Sudan in Stages

As many as 827 of the 1,209 Indonesian nationals in Sudan will be evacuated from the conflict-ridden country. Indonesian citizens in the country who have yet to report themselves are expected to do so to be evacuated.

TANGKAPAN LAYAR/KOMPAS/KRIS MADA

Screenshot of the video sent by the Indonesian Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan. Indonesia started the process of evacuating its citizens from Sudan starting Sunday (23/4/2023). Of the 1,209 Indonesian citizens in Sudan, it is confirmed that 827 will be evacuated immediately.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Indonesia is continuing to evacuate its citizens who live in violence-stricken Sudan. To ensure their repatriation goes smoothly, the government has urged Indonesian citizens in Sudan to immediately contact or visit the Indonesian Embassy in Khartoum.

Foreign Affairs Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi said Indonesian citizens who were not yet at Wisma Duta, the official residence of the Indonesian ambassador to Sudan, or at the Indonesian Embassy in Khartoum, should coordinate immediately with the embassy.

“I urge every Indonesian citizen who is still in Sudan and has not reported themselves to immediately report their whereabouts to the Indonesian Embassy in Khartoum so they can be evacuated with the second group,” Retno said on Monday (24/4/2023) in West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara.

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As many as 827 of the 1,209 Indonesian nationals registered with the Indonesian Embassy in Khartoum will be evacuated in two stages. It is not known when the remaining 382 Indonesians will be evacuated.

The first stage of evacuations began on Sunday (23/4). As of Monday, 538 Indonesians have arrived in Port Sudan. “Currently, 538 Indonesian nationals are resting at a halfway house in Port Sudan before departing for Jeddah by sea,” said Retno.

The task of repatriating Indonesian nationals from Sudan is a noble and honorable duty that must be carried out with a sense of responsibility.

Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Adm. Yudo Margono deployed the evacuation team at Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport on Monday. One Boeing 737-400 aircraft carried 39 personnel consisting of 16 crew members, a joint team from the rapid action troop command, the TNI medical team, members of the TNI Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS), a group of TNI psychologists and Foreign Ministry staff. It will take 12 hours and 30 minutes for the flight to reach Jeddah.

“The task of repatriating Indonesian nationals from Sudan is a noble and honorable duty that must be carried out with a sense of responsibility,” said Yudo.

KOMPAS/PRIYOMBODO

Bravo Unit 90 troops after the departure ceremony for the Indonesian Nationals (WNI) evacuation team to Sudan from Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base, Jakarta, Monday (24/5/2023).

Judha Nugraha, director of the Protection of Indonesian Citizens and Legal Entities, is currently in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to assist with the evacuation. Judha confirmed that the evacuation involved the cooperation of various parties.

This is not the first time Indonesia has had to evacuate its citizens from Sudan. The government also had to evacuate its citizens when civil war broke out in that country in 2003. Now, Indonesia must repatriate its citizens again for the same reason.

The armed conflict between Khartoum’s military (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group began on Saturday (15/4). The military led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Al Burhan and the RSF led by Gen. Hamdan Dagalo have been competing for power in Sudan for years. Sudan’s capital Khartoum has become the epicenter of the conflict.

Limitations

During the first stage of the evacuation, the Indonesian Embassy in Khartoum used nine vehicles to transport hundreds of Indonesian nationals. It took 15 hours to travel to Port Sudan from Khartoum, and they had to pass through at least 15 checkpoints.

The evacuation cannot be done at one time due to limited fuel for vehicles, among other things. Retno says the second stage of the evacuation will begin as soon as possible.

Indonesia has evacuated almost all of its citizens from war zones, even if gradually. Those that are not evacuated include resident Indonesians who refuse to leave the conflict area for various reasons. This has occurred in Ukraine, Syria and Libya.

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Other countries have adopted different policies. The United States, for one, has ensured that all government employees and their families were evacuated on Saturday (22/4), but it has no plans to evacuate other US citizens from Sudan. The US has instead asked them to join the evacuation efforts coordinated by Turkey or the United Arab Emirates.

There are 16,000 US citizens in Sudan, with some holding dual US-Sudan nationality. Among them is Isma’il Kushkush, a journalist in Khartoum. In a text message to CNN, Kuskush said he had been trapped in a building with dozens of people for days. He lived less than 500 meters from the Presidential Palace in Khartoum, one of the centers of the RSF-SAF conflict.

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Smoke rises from a central neighborhood of Khartoum, Sudan, Sunday, April 16, 2023, after dozens have been killed in two days of intense fighting. The Sudanese military and a powerful paramilitary group are battling for control of the chaos-stricken nation for a second day.

Italy and France are sending military aircraft to Khartoum to repatriate their citizens from Sudan. Like the US, the two European nations are also prioritizing the evacuation of government employees and their families. Italy’s aircraft was deployed in a joint EU operation.

Meanwhile, Amman confirmed that four aircraft were transporting 343 Jordanians from Port Sudan. As for Cairo, an employee at the Egyptian Embassy in Khartoum was shot while the evacuation was underway. At least 10,000 Egyptian nationals are in Sudan.

Riyadh is evacuating not only Saudi Arabian nationals. The Saudi navy has transported citizens of various countries from Port Sudan to Jeddah. The majority of evacuations must be conducted overland to neighboring countries or to Port Sudan, on the shores of the Red Sea, as airports around Khartoum have become battlegrounds.

Several diplomats in Khartoum said a mass evacuation of foreigners would be carried out on Monday or Tuesday. Countries are racing against time to evacuate their citizens during the brief cease-fire. The majority of foreign nationals will be transported by ship from Port Sudan along the coast of the Red Sea.

We will coordinate with diplomatic missions to ensure citizens of various countries return to their respective countries safely.

Other countries began evacuating their citizens last Friday, spurred by a statement from the RSF agreeing to a three-day cease-fire because of the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr. Along with several other countries in Africa and the Middle East, Sudan also celebrated Eid al-Fitr on Friday.

In a statement on Sunday, the RSF claimed it was coordinating evacuations with the US. According to the RSF, the US is sending six planes to evacaute government employees and their families. The RSF also promised to assist other countries in evacuating their citizens from Sudan.

“We will coordinate with diplomatic missions to ensure citizens of various countries return to their respective countries safely,” the RSF statement said, as quoted by Al Jazeera.

RSF leader Dagalo also blamed Burhan and his troops for breaching the cease-fire. “I have no problem with a truce. Burhan and his men were unable to honor this agreement,” he told Al Arabiyatelevision. (AFP/REUTERS)

This article was translated by Kesya Adhalia.