Stranded Bangladeshis to return home from Sudan within a week

Diplomatic Correspondent :
The government has completed all necessary preparations for the safe return of the 700 registered Bangladeshi citizens who were stranded in conflict zones in Sudan. They are expected to return home within a week.

“If everything goes well on May 2, Bangladeshi nationals will be transported by bus from Khartoum to Port Sudan, 850 kilometers away, from where they will be taken to Jeddah. And from there they will be brought back by flights within a period of 48 hours,” State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam said on Sunday.

He came up with the latest information available to him after holding a coordination meeting with the line ministries including Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment in the Foreign Ministry.

According to state minister, Bangladesh’s ambassador to Sudan Tareq Ahmed and his colleagues are currently stationed in Port Sudan to oversee the process and they will stay there till the last Bangladeshi to return home.

Describing the escalating grave situation in Sudan, he urged all the Bangladeshis to come back home through registration as the government has made all necessary preparations.

According to the Foreign Ministry, over 1,500 Bangladeshis are currently in Sudan, with around 700 have completed their registration process. Of the registered, there are families, women and children.

“If necessary, arrangements have been made for a chartered flight as well. Both Biman Bangladesh Airlines and the Bangladesh Air Force are prepared for this purpose,” he added.

The state minister stated that the Saudi Arabian government would make hotel arrangement for the temporary stay of the evacuated Bangladeshis when they would reach Jeddah from Port Sudan.

“As Bangladesh Biman has regular services in Middle East, it will be used for the return of them. If necessary, we have preparations for chartered flight,” he said.
When asked if it was possible to pick up Bangladeshis from another location if the place where the bus would leave from Khartoum was changed, he said, “The place that is safe today may not be safe in next two days. We are monitoring the situation.”

Apart from this, Shahriar Alam also mentioned that so far, 35 Bangladeshis who were employed in Saudi Arabia or other countries’ establishments have been safely housed through the initiatives of the companies.

“Out of the 35 Bangladeshi, 34 have reached Jeddah and one has reached the United Arab Emirates,” he mentioned.

In reply to another query whether it was late for the evacuation of the Bangladeshis, he said, “It’s not like that all countries have brought back their citizens home.”
When asked about the issue of not being able to connect to the hotline in Sudan, the state minister said, that during today’s meeting, we had instructed our concerned ambassador to connect through the internet.

But their connection was repeatedly interrupted. In this case, those who are unable to connect can leave a text message along with their phone number. The concerned person will respond accordingly, he added.

Since April 15, there has been ongoing conflict between the Sudanese military and members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a semi-military force in Sudan.
The conflict has taken a dangerous turn in the past two weeks, with over 400 people killed so far.

Among the casualties are not only semi-military personnel but also United Nations workers and an Egyptian assistant defense advisor.