Jakarta, IO – Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi confirmed that Indonesia is going to evacuate its citizens from Sudan, which has been rocked by civil war since Saturday (15/4), reported Tempo.co, Friday (21/4).
Retno is coordinating with the authorities in Khartoum and personally lead a coordination meeting for the evacuation of more than 1,200 Indonesian citizens there.
She revealed that the evacuation will be carried out with Indonesian embassies in Khartoum, Cairo, Riyadh, Addis Ababa as well as the consulate general in Jeddah.
“The preparations for the evacuation continue to be finalized to ensure the safety of Indonesian citizens,” said Retno. “I want to reiterate that the safety of our citizens is of utmost importance.”
In addition, Retno said the Indonesian government through its permanent representative in New York had also urged the United Nations Security Council to act. Retno said the humanitarian ceasefire is very important to enable the evacuation, reported Okezone.com.
“The humanitarian ceasefire will be the key to the implementation of evacuation and the continuation of humanitarian assistance. Therefore, once again Indonesia urges the UN Security Council to act immediately,” she said.
Read: Indonesian citizen wounded by stray bullet in Sudan
Retno emphasized that the Indonesian government would do whatever it can to protect Indonesian citizens in Sudan. She also appealed to Indonesian citizens in Sudan and their families in Indonesia to remain calm.
Almost a week into the conflict, the security situation in Sudan is deteriorating. The fighting between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary group RSF has killed 300 people and injured more than 3,000. (un)