Nigerian students of the Yoruba extraction trapped in Sudan following the fighting which has led to the killing of hundreds in the country and left many foreign nationals stranded have sought the help of the South-West governors for their evacuation.
The students under the aegis of Yoruba Students’ Union, Sudan, sought in particular, the intervention of South-West governors in their home country on their possible evacuation from Sudan.
“Peace be unto you. On behalf of the Yoruba Students Union in Sudan, we urgently call on the Federal Government and South-West governors to kindly come to our aid in respect to the ongoing crisis in Sudan which has now turned to a survival mode due to the intense civil war of more than a week,” a statement by the Executive Council of the union, dated Saturday, partly read.
The PUNCH reports that the conflict between the Sudanese armed forces and the paramilitary group, Rapid Support Force, has claimed over 400 lives with about 3,500 injured.
The clashes have also displaced thousands of civilians who fled the capital, Khartoum, as the violence, which started on April 8, entered its 15th day on Sunday.
Until recently, the Sudanese Armed Forces, led by General Abdel al-Burhan, and the RSF paramilitary group, headed by General Mohamed Dagalo, were allies.
The Federal Government of Nigeria, on Saturday, said all airports and land borders in Sudan were closed as the emergency situation in the country was very complex with ongoing fighting between warring factions.
It, however, stated that a search and rescue committee had been established to come up with the safest way of evacuating Nigerians stranded in the troubled nation.
The government disclosed this through the National Emergency Management Agency, stressing that it was aware of the widespread public concern about the situation in Sudan.
Crying for help, the students said, “We are appealing to the South-West governors to collaborate with the Federal Government in our possible evacuation from this war.”
According to them, air evacuation has been ruled out due to the destruction of the airport, only land evacuation is possible to neighbouring countries like Ethiopia or Djibouti, as seen by other nationals doing.
