Saudi Royal Navy officers assist a child onboard their navy ship as they evacuate Saudis and other nationals from Sudan to escape the conflicts there. Saudi Ministry of Defense/Handout via REUTERS
MANILA, Philippines — At least 300 more Filipinos have started evacuating Sudan while the 72-hour ceasefire clock of warring factions in the war-torn country continues to wind down, said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Eduardo de Vega said seven more buses carrying at least 300 Filipinos left from Sudan to Egypt on Wednesday morning.
“Suffice to say, there were 50 who left in the first bus and about 300 leaving today, not to mention the others who have been leaving on their own,” he told INQUIRER.net in a message.
But, de Vega noted, Filipino evacuees are met with another problem: Grueling procedures before entering Egypt.
“The problem is the long processing at the Egyptian border. Taking over a day,” he explained.
De Vega said this is also holding back the first batch of Filipinos from crossing over the Sudan – Egypt border.
Asked about the reason behind the long processing at the border, he said: “They do not have Egyptian visas, and many do not even have passports with them.”
Some of them have no money to pay for exit or entry fees, which cost less than $10, de Vega noted.
He said the Philippine Embassy in Egypt is already trying to fix the delays in processing the Filipino evacuees.
“In fact, in their rush to get to the border by car to help incoming Filipinos cross through, Ambassador Ezzedin Tago and Vice Consul Bojer Capati got in a car accident where their car rolled over two times. But they survived and are still proceeding somehow to the border later today,” de Vega said.
In a separate message, DFA spokesperson Teresita Daza said Tago returned to Cairo and will instead fly to the border to facilitate the entry of the Filipinos to Egypt.
De Vega also pointed out that some Filipinos are leaving the strife-torn country on their own via the Port of Sudan.
“Problem is we have no officials there. But from there, military vessels from Saudi Arabia are regularly picking up passengers to ferry them to Jeddah,” he added.
According to the DFA, there are 740 Filipinos registered in Sudan as of Tuesday, April 25. Most of them are professionals, agricultural workers, students, and health workers.
A three-day ceasefire, which began Tuesday, was sealed by the Sudan Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces following intense negotiations mediated by the United States and Saudi Arabia.
But a Reuters report has since said the truce was only “partially holding” as violent clashes began flaring up again.
The World Health Organization had reported at least 413 people killed and 3,551 others injured since deadly clashes broke out in Sudan more than a week ago due to a power struggle between troops and paramilitary forces.
No Filipino casualties have been reported, but the DFA earlier confirmed that one Filipino was grazed by a bullet amid raging skirmishes in Sudan.
RELATED STORIES:
Bongbong Marcos says gov’t preparing to move Filipinos out of Sudan amid 72-hour lull in fighting
No sign Sudan warring parties ready to negotiate–UN
Foreign states rush high-risk Sudan evacuation, some foreign citizens hurt