Bangladeshis in Sudan urged to register for evacuation

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Sunday urged all Bangladeshis in Sudan to get registered as evacuation is set to begin on May 2 or 3.

"We assume there are nearly 1,500 Bangladesh nationals in Sudan, and so far, 700 of them have registered (with the Bangladesh Embassy in Sudan) ... I appeal to the rest of the Bangladeshis to get registered for evacuation," he said.

He made the appeal at a press briefing after presiding over an inter-ministerial meeting at the Ministry, on the evacuation plan of Bangladeshis from Sudan.

Alam said some Bangladeshi, now living in Sudan, may think to stay back in the war-hit African country or to go to second country, but, "it will not be easy for them".

"As the (Bangladesh) government is offering support, all should register themselves to evacuate from Sudan for their own safety and sake of their families," Alam said.

He said Bangladeshi nationals will be taken to Port Sudan from Khartoum by bus on May 2 or 3 and from there they will be taken to Jeddah crossing Red Sea through Saudi Arabia owned vessels by a 12-hour voyage.

The Bangladesh Embassy in Khartoum has already arranged nine buses to take the Bangladeshi nationals to Port Sudan from Khartoum and adjacent cities.

Alam said that he is hopeful to bring all 700 Bangladeshis from Khartoum to Port Sudan at one go.

"We are expecting that the Bangladeshis would reach Jeddah a day after they arrive in Port Sudan," he said.

The state minister said Bangladeshi nationals with passports would be taken onboard immediately and those who do not have passports will be given travel documents promptly to avail the next available Saudi ships to reach Jeddah.

He said arrangement have been made to provide food and some money to each Bangladeshi nationals during their evacuation from Sudan to Bangladesh.

From Jeddah, Alam said the Bangladeshis would be brought to Bangladesh by several flights of Biman Bangladesh Airlines.

The national flag carrier Biman is ready to operate chartered flights to bring the Bangladeshi nationals back home, if required, he added.

The state minister said the Saudi Arabia government has assured that it would arrange hotels as shelter for Bangladeshi nationals in Jeddah.

So far, Alam said, 35 Bangladeshi nationals have been evacuated from Sudan through help of different Middle Eastern countries.

He said that the staffs of Bangladesh mission in Sudan would not leave that country unless the last registered Bangladeshi is evacuated.

A team from Bangladesh Jeddah mission has already reached Sudan by an Indonesian aircraft to provide support to the evacuation mission.

The state minister expressed his gratitude to Saudi Arabia and Indonesian government for their support in evacuating Bangladeshi nationals.