The first Dutch army aircraft departed from Sudan for an evacuation flight. The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and evacuees of various nationalities are on board the C-130 Hercules transport aircraft. The plane is on its way to Jordan. The evacuees will later be taken to the Netherlands.
The evacuation was carried out on site by the Marine Corps, the Ministry of Defense reports. It is the first Dutch evacuation flight from Sudan, which has been hit by heavy violence for a week.
Yesterday, a group of Dutch people was brought to safety with a plane from the French Air Force. They were taken to the African country of Djibouti and were taken care of by two employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A group of Dutch people also flew to Jordan yesterday, Minister Hoekstra reported, also with a French flight.
Some Dutch people stay
The ministry cannot yet say how many Dutch people have been brought to safety so far. The ministry previously reported that more than 150 Dutch citizens and embassy employees want to be evacuated. The Dutch embassy in the capital Khartoum is closed, but work is continuing from elsewhere.
Some Dutch people in Sudan do not want to leave now, for example because they do not want to leave family behind in the country or because they cannot get to the airport. Another factor is that the evacuation is not without risks. The army and RSF paramilitary units have been fighting each other in Sudan for over a week now. At least 400 civilians have been killed.
Yesterday it became clear that the Netherlands is working with France and Germany in the rescue operation of Dutch people from Sudan. Minister Hoekstra then said that the intention is to land as many aircraft as possible.
More and more European countries are evacuating their citizens from Sudan. These include Greece, Spain, Italy and Germany. The German Bundeswehr has now evacuated more than 200 people from the Sudanese capital Khartoum and has more flights planned. More than 300 Germans are on an evacuation list and are being flown to Jordan. Other EU citizens can also count on Germany’s help, says the German army.
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