PUTRAJAYA, April 19 — The process of bringing back 32 Malaysians who are stranded in Sudan will be carried out as soon as the situation permits, said Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir.
Speaking at a media conference on the situation in Sudan today, he said all Malaysian citizens are safe at seven locations and are provided with food and medicine for two weeks.
“At the Cabinet meeting today, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim ordered such efforts to be conducted as soon as the situation allows.
“I wish to stress the commitment of the government to ensure the safety of Malaysians in Sudan, as the priority,” he said, adding a special team will bring back the Malaysians as soon as possible.
Zambry said that based on the current evaluation, the safe route out by air is via Khartoum International Airport. Nonetheless, the airport is still not in operation as it has become a target of the battle.
Violent fighting broke out on Saturday (April 16) between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum and other cities, with both sides accusing each other of fueling the conflict.
Tensions between the two military forces have escalated since Wednesday (April 23) in the Merowe region of northern Sudan, after the RSF took military vehicles to a location near a military airbase there which SAF considered illegal.
The minister said that based on the latest reports, 185 people were killed while more than 2,000 people were reported to be injured, and the number of casualties is feared to be increasing because of the restrictions on access to the battlefield and Sudan’s health services are currently operating at a minimal level.
Sharing the latest developments at the Petronas Complex in Sudan which was taken by force last Monday, he said SAF which is still occupying the building have made the roof in block B a post to monitor any activities that may threaten the SAF headquarters.
Describing the situation of unrest in Sudan as very complex, Zambry said the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Food Program (WPF) have expressed their respective concerns about the situation.
“WFP, for example, has stopped its humanitarian aid operations after three of its staff became victims in this battle,” he said.
Regarding the developments in Tunisia following the arrest of the top leader of the Ennahda Party, Rached Ghannouchi, reportedly detained by the Tunisian authorities on Monday (April 17), Zambry said Wisma Putra is closely following the developments and hoped that the country would soon reach a solution so that the situation would return to stability.
“The best thing is for them to come up with a solution at the national level and reach a consensus to stop the unstable situation in the country,” he said.
Zambry added Malaysia will not interfere in the affairs of other countries but if a country is not peaceful, it will affect the international community.
— Bernama
