Gov’t readies help for Filipinos in Sudan

This image grab taken from AFPTV video footage on April 20, 2023, shows an aerial view of black smoke rising above the Khartoum International Airport amid ongoing battles between the forces of two rival generals. – Hundreds of people have been killed since the fighting erupted on April 15 between forces loyal to Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). (Photo by AFP)

The Philippine Embassy in Egypt has received at least 86 requests for evacuation and repatriation from Filipinos affected by the ongoing violence in Khartoum, Sudan, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The embassy said in a statement that it was preparing for an Assistance-to-Nationals mission to Sudan to facilitate evacuation and provide relief goods to Filipinos there.

While there has been no confirmed injury or casualty among Filipinos in the country, the embassy received, as of April 19, more registrations of overseas Filipino workers, increasing the number of Filipinos in Sudan to some 400.

Foreign Undersecretary for Migrant Affairs Eduardo Jose de Vega said Filipinos in Sudan were advised to stay home as the embassy readied assistance.

Clashes that erupted from the power struggle between Sudanese military leaders started last weekend and have resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries. —TINA G. SANTOS

READ: 1 Filipino hurt as violence flares in Sudan