Chinese navy ships head to Sudan on evacuation mission
- Military ships help evacuate Chinese nationals after crisis in African country enters second week
- A 72-hour ceasefire between warring factions runs through Thursday to allow foreigners to leave the country
Chinese defence ministry spokesman Tan Kefei confirmed on Thursday that the ships were on their way.
“Due to the recent continually deteriorating security situation in Sudan, the Chinese army sent naval vessels to Sudan on April 26 to evacuate and transport our citizens to protect the lives and property of Chinese personnel in Sudan,” Tan said.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said more than 1,300 Chinese citizens had left Sudan, some of whom were still on the way to other countries.
“So far, more than 1,300 Chinese citizens have been safely transferred, some have left Sudan on Chinese warships and boats, and some are on their way out.”
Mao added that there were still a few Chinese citizens outside Khartoum, and the ministry would “try their best to help”.
Citizens from five other countries had also used the Chinese ships to leave Sudan, the spokeswoman added.
01:55
China evacuates its citizens from Sudan as conflict enters second week
The evacuation will be conducted by China’s cruising fleet in the Gulf of Aden. The fleet, which is from the People’s Liberation Armey’s Southern Theatre Command, has three vessels – a destroyer, a frigate and a replenishment ship – as well as two shipborne helicopters and more than 700 military personnel, according to a post on the command’s WeChat on Thursday.
The military crisis in Sudan has entered its second week with no sign the bloody conflict will end soon. The fighting has resulted in the deaths of at least 460 people and injury to more than 4,000 people, according to the Sudanese Health Ministry.
No Chinese citizens in Sudan have been reported wounded.
Once we left Khartoum, the sound of shelling basically disappeared
Jia Xi, a Chinese student majoring in Arabic at the International University of Africa in Khartoum, arrived in the city of Port Sudan on Tuesday.
The exchange student from Shanghai would soon leave for Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, on the other side of the Red Sea, but said he had no idea when.
He and other evacuees were given temporary shelter at a Chinese company in Port Sudan while they awaited evacuation.
“We rode the bus for more than 10 hours,” Jia said.
“The journey was relatively safe, we did not encounter any army. Once we left Khartoum, the sound of shelling basically disappeared.”
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Some employees of Chinese state-owned companies were expected to return to China within days. According to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, more than 130 Chinese companies were operating in Sudan as of 2020.
“Some of my former students were terrified when they escaped, and they were not in good shape,” a university professor in Beijing said, adding that they had been working in Sudan for Chinese state-owned enterprises, including arms manufacturer Norinco.
“One of my students said the situation in the streets is ‘really intense’,” the professor said, requesting anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
Some of the students had reached Ethiopia and would return to China later this week, the professor said.
Battle in Sudan’s capital risks awakening war in Darfur
The Chinese embassy in Egypt issued a notice on Monday reminding Chinese citizens of safety concerns if they decided to seek refuge on their own. It also sent a working group to a southern Egyptian port to receive evacuees from Sudan.
“Be sure to plan the trip well before leaving, and consider vehicle maintenance, fuel supplies and [other] supplies in advance. Pay attention to the safety of the journey, avoid war zones and call the embassy for assistance in case of emergency,” the embassy in Cairo said in the notice.
Besides China, countries including the United States, Britain, Germany, France, India, Japan and South Korea are also evacuating their citizens.
