Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, has said that due to the dicey situation in the conflict-torn Sudan, the Federal Government will evacuate Nigerians by road.
Many Nigerias including students and citizens of other countries are stranded in the North African country following the Violence that broke out between the Sudanese army led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the leader of the Rapid Support Force(RSF) Mohamed Dalago.
“We have been given the cost estimate and all the details. They gave us a figure of 5,500 who are ready for evacuation. Obviously, what you need in a situation like this is a place where everybody can congregate before you start moving them out. Because the airports, as you pointed out in your report, it is out of commission. The only viable way out is by road. “But of course, it is not totally safe so you are going to require the government to provide some security and a safe corridor out.”
Earlier the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, signed by the Charge D’ Affairs H.Y Garko, had advised students who make up about 80 percent of the stranded persons to stay indoors. This advice was based on information that some Nigerian students have mobilised themselves to flee to Ethiopia but the government warned that it was still dangerous to embark on a journey toward the borders of Sudan without security clearance and guarantee from the Sudanese authorities. The Embassy also reassured the Nigerian students that their safety and well-being were of priority concern.
(leadership.ng)