No Nigerian life lost in Sudan conflict — Minister

157

The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Zubairu Dada, on Wednesday, said no Nigerian life has been lost so far in the crisis engulfing Sudan.

He said this during a press conference following the Federal Executive Council meeting, adding that the Federal Government has already finalised measures to evacuate nearly 5,000 citizens from the war-torn country.

He added that the first batch of Nigerians is being transported as of Wednesday, adding that citizens will be transported through buses through Egypt before being flown.

The evacuation of diplomats, women, and children will be prioritised.

Eleven days of heavy fighting until Monday has killed hundreds of people, left bodies rotting in the streets, and some neighbourhoods of greater Khartoum in ruins.

The latest conflict is between forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against those of his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the heavily armed paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The RSF emerged from the Janjaweed militia that then-president Omar al-Bashir unleashed in the Darfur region two decades ago, leading to war crimes charges against Bashir and others.