Sudan fighting

By Lawan Bukar Maigana

The war is still raging. The fight in Sudan between two factional military groups, which started on April 15 — about two weeks ago, has left hundreds of people dead. Thousands have also fled for their safety.

A large number of foreigners in Sudan, especially diplomats and students, have been evacuated by their governments. But some are still stranded in the Sahara desert and in schools, among which are Nigerians.

Heartbreakingly, videos and audio of young Nigerians have emerged online, showing how helpless they have been since the war in Sudan broke out. Some of them claimed that they didn’t eat for days and that life had been hell for them since the start of the war, and the power struggle is still unfolding, leaving millions of people in fear.

No responsible country will leave its citizens at the mercy of rival factions whose attacks on each other can claim lives and properties. Therefore, it is baseless for anyone to compare the Ukrainian war and Sudan’s because the Ukrainian airport was not targeted by Russian soldiers, which is why countries were able to pick up their people safely and peacefully, but that of Sudan was and still is.

If Nigeria had insisted on evacuating Nigerians on the very day the Turkish plane was attacked, many lives would have been lost because the Nigerian plane, too, would have been attacked, but the almighty saved Nigerians. The government got some privileged information about the massive plan to attack evacuation planes, which was hitherto unavailable.

Hence, the Nigerian embassy wrote to the students urging them to be patient and pack their belongings so they could be transported to Egypt by road, where they could be brought home safely without any fear of attacks or victimization by anyone. This has saved the lives of my fellow citizens.

In appreciation, one of the ladies who was seen crying profusely, calling on the Nigerian government to come to their aid, has again made another video saying over 20 luxurious cars have successfully evacuated Nigerian students who were helpless and stranded in Khartoum, the Capital of Sudan.

She added that the government has again sent its representatives to Egypt to work on releasing students who were unable to cross the border due to some issues related to diplomacy. They, too, have been successfully cleared, and they are in Egypt.

It is important for Nigeria’s incoming government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Senator Kashim Shettima to, as leaders of the giant of Africa, intervene. They should quickly come to the aid of distressed Nigerians still residing in Sudan. Their prevailing agony can only be imagined. Delay is dangerous, as it is often said in our local parlance.

Lawan Bukar Maigana writes from Maiduguri and can be reached via email: lawanbukarmaigana@gmail.com.

By Muhammadu Sabiu 
 
The Federal Government of Nigeria said in Abuja that it had spent $1.2 million to send 40 buses in Sudan to pick up at least 2,400 stranded Nigerians.
 
Geoffrey Onyeama, the minister of foreign affairs, revealed this to the State House reporters shortly after this week’s Federal Executive Council meeting, which was held in the Aso Rock Villa’s Council Chambers in Abuja.
 
According to Onyeama, the exorbitant expense of the evacuation was necessary to cover security for the eleven-hour trip from Aswan to Cairo and the eight-hour journey from Luxol to Cairo, Egypt.
 
Despite their agreement to end hostilities at midnight on Monday, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces reportedly resumed fighting on Wednesday.
 
The evacuation attempt that was scheduled for Tuesday was unsuccessful because of logistical issues.
 

By Muhammadu Sabiu 
 
The National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, informed Nigerians in Sudan on Saturday that the federal government was working to bring them home.
 
This is contained in a statement released by Manzo Ezekiel, the head of NEMA’s press unit, in Abuja. 
 
He said that NEMA was very worried about the situation, was keeping an eye on it, and was working on all available possibilities to return the trapped Nigerians to their loved ones’ homes in a safe and respectable manner.
 
The statement reads, “The attention of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is drawn to the widespread public concern on the situation in Sudan especially in regards to the ongoing conflict and the safety as well as well-being of stranded Nigerian citizens including hundreds of students in various universities of the country.
 
“It has become necessary to inform the public that NEMA is in constant communication with all relevant partners including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Nigerian Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission and security agencies while seeking for an appropriate window of opportunity to evacuate all stranded Nigerians back home in a safe and dignified manner.
 
“The current emergency situation in Sudan is very complex with fighting between waring factions going on and all airports and land boarders closed. NEMA is working assiduously with all its partners and is constantly compiling updated information on the situation.
 
“A committee has been set up comprising of professional emergency responders, search and rescue experts to constantly evaluate the situation and seek for the safest way to evacuate the Nigerian citizens even if it is through a country neighbouring Sudan.”
 
Recall that there is ongoing violence involving the Sudanese Army and its paramilitary, which was recently characterised by heavy gunfire and explosions in the capital Khartoum.
 
 

By Muhammadu Sabiu 

South Korea announced Friday that it would send a military aircraft and soldiers to evacuate South Korean citizens stuck in Sudan, where fighting has claimed hundreds of lives since it started last week.

Similar actions are being taken by Japan, which on Friday dispatched a military jet to attempt to retrieve its citizens from the country affected by the violence.

Violence between soldiers loyal to Sudan’s army head Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who leads the paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF), broke out on Saturday, killing more than 300 people.

Despite calls from world powers for end-of-Ramadan peace, there were numerous gunshots and explosions Friday in Khartoum, the capital, and other parts of the country.

By Muhammadu Sabiu 
 
Nigerians studying in Sudan have written the Nigerian government to evacuate all its citizens trapped there, especially in the capital city of Khartoum where the military and paramilitary are fighting.
 
This is coming after some days since the fight had started, which left hundreds either killed or injured.
 
Reports have indicated that thousands of people are trapped in the city of Khartoum with no access to basic needs like food and medicine.
 
The National Association of Nigerian Students in Sudan made this request in a letter to the federal government.
 
The letter reads, “We write this to Nigerian Government in respect to the current and ongoing conflict that erupts between the Sudan military and paramilitary forces in these past days; particularly in Khartoum, the capital city where constant gunfire, explosions and airstrike attacks dominate its vicinity and environs (where a score of Nigerian Students study).
 
“2. The Nigerian Students have been stranded in fears with no access to basic needs equipment and have been facing dangerous threats. We hereby write soliciting and yearning for the Nigerian Government’s intercession to rescue and send for an immediate evacuation of the Nigerian students that are stuck in the center of the ongoing war.
 
“3. We strongly hope that our call for rescue to our dear nation Nigeria will be responded to with immediate effect.