Just In: Fleeing Nigerian Students Stranded in Sudan Desert
Nigerian students escaping the war in Sudan are at the moment stranded in the desert.
This is followed by the declaration of a three-day ceasefire both by the Sudanese armed forces and the Rapid Support Force enabling countries to evacuate their citizens during the time.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian government on Wednesday disclosed that a sum of N150m had been released for hiring 40 buses to convey some Nigerians from Sudan to Cairo in Egypt, from where they would be airlifted to Nigeria.
However, some of the Nigerian students being evacuated to safety have shared bitter experiences about the journey.
One of the affected students, who claimed anonymous said the drivers have vowed not to continue the journey because of unavailable funds.
“Before we started this journey, we experienced different things. Can you believe that we have been stuck in this desert for 5 hours. We don’t know the situation we are in.
“We don’t have water. Our money has finished. Can you imagine? The drivers said they are not moving their buses because they have not been paid. We are stuck in the desert. We don’t have anything. We don’t even know where we are. We are in an unknown location and in a very big danger.”
Previously, the Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, had confirmed that the evacuation had begun.
Geoffrey Onyeama, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Zubairu Dada, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, had also said they wanted to utilise the 72-hour ceasefire to evacuate as many Nigerians in Sudan as possible.
Close to 5,500 Nigerians, including students, were stranded in Khartoum and other cities of Sudan as a result of the conflict.
Recall that the Sudan crises was as a result of the clashes which broke out between erstwhile allies, General Abdel al-Burha, who heads the Sudanese Armed Forces and leader of the RSF paramilitary group, General Mohamed Dagalo, over a power-sharing disagreement.
The conflict had so far claimed about 500 lives with thousands of others injured and millions displaced.
Moreover, foreigners have been cited fleeing Khartoum in a long-United Nations convoy, while millions of frightened residents hunkered down inside their homes, many running low on water and food.
Dada said the Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and staff of the Nigerian commission in Egypt and Ethiopia are currently on the ground in the Egyptian border in Aswan to receive close to 40 luxury buses conveying Nigerians who had left the Sudanese capital, Khartoum by road.
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