Operation to get Greeks out of Sudan continues

The number of Greeks who have been safely evacuated from war-torn Sudan came to 43 on Tuesday afternoon and was expected to continue rising, as at least 80 individuals who are Greek or related to one are still in Khartoum waiting to be taken out. 

Of 43 people who have already been safely taken out of the country, 17 arrived in Greece on Tuesday morning on an air force transport aircraft from Egypt. Another seven are coming from Egypt by road, among whom are two individuals in need of medical treatment, one of them urgently.

There are also 17 Cypriot nationals waiting to be taken out of Sudan, according to diplomatic sources.

The operation to evacuate foreign nationals trapped by the outbreak of fighting between rival military factions in the northeast African country 10 days ago has been accelerated by a 72-hour ceasefire negotiated by the United States. 

Greek authorities are hoping the lull in hostilities will allow them to get another military transport plane on the ground in Khartoum soon to rescue the other 80 individuals who are still there, though conditions have been precarious.

Greek diplomats have been put on standby in Aqaba in Jordan, in Djibouti and in Aswan and Cairo in Egypt to assist nationals fleeing the fighting.

Assistance from France, the Netherlands and Italy has been instrumental in getting the Greeks out of Sudan, diplomats in Athens noted, adding that the United Arab Emirates and Egypt also helped stop attacks on locations where Greeks were known to be trapped, including in the Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral.