Evacuations continue, Defense takes Dutch people from Sudan with a Hercules transport plane | Abroad

The evacuation to Sudan was carried out by Dutch marines. In recent days, the possibilities of evacuating the Dutch have been explored, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On Sunday, it became clear that a time slot at the airport was becoming available. The ministry informed the Dutch in Sudan about this and kept in close contact with them about the transfer to the airport.

People evacuated from Sudan are received in Jordan by employees of the Consular Support Team (SCOT). The SCOT is a team of Foreign Affairs employees that can be deployed quickly to an area where many Dutch people need help. They will then be brought to the Netherlands from Jordan. In the meantime, the Ministry of Defense and Foreign Affairs continues to work on the evacuation of people who were not yet on the first flight from Sudan, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

A number of Dutch people have already landed on a French flight in Djibouti, an East African country, on Sunday. They were cared for there by two SCOT employees. A Foreign Affairs spokeswoman could not say how many people were involved overnight from Sunday to Monday. The two SCOT employees arrived in Djibouti on Saturday evening and set up, among other things, a reception area for the evacuees.

Minister Wopke Hoekstra (Foreign Affairs) announced on Sunday that a first group of Dutch people had been evacuated from Sudan. He also used a French plane and flew to Jordan. According to Hoekstra, there would be a “handful” of Dutch people on board the plane. If they have now arrived in Jordan, the spokeswoman could not say overnight from Sunday to Monday.

Evacuations are not without risk. “The Dutch have to decide for themselves if they want and can use it,” says the Foreign Office. According to the ministry, it is “unpredictable” how long it will be possible to evacuate people.

Some Dutch people in Sudan have informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that they cannot come to the airport because they have no means of transport. Others dare not go to the airport because of the poor security situation in the capital Khartoum. A number of Dutch people do not want to leave their families behind.

Fighting in Sudan entered its second week on Saturday. The regular government army led by General Abdel Fatah al-Burhan is fighting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of General Mohamad Hamdan Dagalo. In 2021, the two generals seized power in a joint coup, but relations between the two men have since been disrupted.

At least 400 people have been killed in the fighting, including 256 civilians, according to the Sudanese Doctors Association. Thousands of people were injured.