DFA: 86 Filipinos in Sudan asked for rescue, repatriation amid deadly clashes

Sudan map. INQUIRER STOCK PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — At least 86 Filipinos have requested to be rescued or repatriated amid fierce clashes between Sudanese troops and paramilitary forces in Khartoum, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Thursday.

DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said 39 Filipinos are seeking repatriation, while 47 others want to be relocated.

“The numbers will go up. By tomorrow, it may be different. Right now, we’ll just estimate about a hundred. We’re preparing for a hundred,” he told INQUIRER.net over the phone.

De Vega said the DFA would prefer to have all Filipinos in Sudan return to the Philippines because “it’s not a very stable situation as compared to other countries.”

DFA spokesperson Teresita Daza told reporters in a text message that there had been “no confirmed injury or casualty from the Filipino community.”

They are also in talks with the Philippine Honorary Consulate in Khartoum and the Philippine Embassy in Cairo to utilize their Assistance to Nationals fund and “facilitate evacuation and provide relief goods to Filipinos” in the battle-ridden country, she added.

Citing data from the Philippine Embassy in Cairo, Daza said there are at least 400 overseas Filipino workers in Sudan as of Wednesday, April 19.

Fighting between troops and the paramilitaries in Sudan has killed around 200 people and injured 1,800 others, according to the United Nations.

READ: Almost 200 dead, 1,800 wounded in Sudan battles: UN

The fatal clashes in the country stemmed from a power rivalry between Sudan’s Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who leads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

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