“Our message to them and their families here at home who are worried, is the situation in Sudan now is such that there is intense fighting and the most challenging part of the fighting is there are also air strikes.”
Monyela put the figure at just more than 100, adding it was impossible to reach stranded citizens as the country had become a no-fly zone.
Hospitals and the airport have been damaged, with the latter closed.
Even South Africa's diplomats were unable to head to the embassy and were holed up in their places of residence.
“It is impossible to move around. Our message is they should stay indoors and avoid windows and just hunker down until the situation improves and allows the South African government to move in and evacuate our nationals. That's the best we can do for now.
“The government is exploring possible options to provide assistance to our nationals stranded in Sudan,” he said.
- Additional reporting by Reuters
TimesLIVE
Just over 100 SA citizens stranded in Sudan as conflict rages, says Dirco
Image: REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah
The department of international relations and co-operation (Dirco) says a substantial number of South Africans are stranded in war-torn Sudan, placing the figure just above 100.
Fighting erupted in the capital Khartoum and other sites across the country at the weekend as powerful rival military factions battle for control, increasing the risk of a nationwide civil war.
Tension has been building for months between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which together toppled a civilian government in an October 2021 coup.
Dirco spokesperson Clayson Monyela, in an interview with 702, confirmed there were South African citizens in the volatile country, but said 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.
Thabo Mbeki calls for 'immediate end' to the conflict in Sudan
“Our message to them and their families here at home who are worried, is the situation in Sudan now is such that there is intense fighting and the most challenging part of the fighting is there are also air strikes.”
Monyela put the figure at just more than 100, adding it was impossible to reach stranded citizens as the country had become a no-fly zone.
Hospitals and the airport have been damaged, with the latter closed.
Even South Africa's diplomats were unable to head to the embassy and were holed up in their places of residence.
“It is impossible to move around. Our message is they should stay indoors and avoid windows and just hunker down until the situation improves and allows the South African government to move in and evacuate our nationals. That's the best we can do for now.
“The government is exploring possible options to provide assistance to our nationals stranded in Sudan,” he said.
- Additional reporting by Reuters
TimesLIVE
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