APA-Pretoria (South Africa) At least 100 South Africans are stranded in Sudan where fighting has been raging between factions of the North African country’s army since the weekend, a senior official said on Wednesday.
Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation spokesperson Clayson Monyela said there were a substantial number of South African citizens in Sudan, but noted that it was impossible to give an exact figure as the numbers “change by the hour”.
“The unfortunate thing about some South Africans when they travel and leave for work in foreign countries, they don’t always inform the embassy in those countries. So it’s only at a time like this when they reach out. But we are adding their names to the database,” Monyela told Talk Radio 702.
Monyela put the figure at just more than 100, adding that it was impossible to reach stranded citizens as the country had become a no-fly zone.
“The government is exploring possible options to provide assistance to our nationals stranded in Sudan,” he said.
At least 185 people have been killed and over 1,800 others injured in five days of fighting between the Sudan Armed Forces and its paramilitary counterparts known as the Rapid Support Force (RSF) over control of the main airport in Khartoum and several other sites in the capital, including the presidential palace, state television and army headquarters.
On Wednesday, air raids and artillery attacks hammered Khartoum after the failure of a United States-brokered ceasefire between the army and the RSF.
JN/APA