22 South Africans fleeing Sudan still trapped in Egypt

A group of 22 South Africans is still trapped in Egypt as the war in Sudan rages on. This just a day after what was thought to be the last batch of South Africans evacuated from the war-torn country arrived home.

Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, the chairperson and founder of Gift of the Givers, said he had received an alert from another group asking for assistance.

“The process of evacuating South Africans from Sudan is not over yet. Gift of the Givers received a call from a group of 22 South Africans caught up in Safaga port in Egypt. They went by boat from Port Sudan.

“The boat was chartered by the company that had employed the South Africans for a project that started in September last year with just two more weeks left for completion when the war started.

“They have been waiting in that boat in Egypt for the last three days for clearance so they could catch a flight from Cairo to SA. Unfortunately they have had to postpone the flight,” Sooliman said.

He said this information had been forwarded to the department of international relations and co-operation (Dirco) and the joint emergency evacuation committee to resolve the issue and get the documents sorted out so that they could travel to SA.

Dirco spokesperson Clayson Monyela said they are aware about the trapped South Africans and that his department has already started activating a plan to bring them home. 

“Our team in Cairo will intervene and assist in getting the necessary clearances required. They initially worked on their own travel arrangements and plan without involving government. Now that they need clearances and therefore our intervention they’ve reached out. We shall help as we always do. We are, however, glad that the group is out of Sudan and not in harm’s way. We are also noting that their employer has so far been responsive, covering all costs and ensuring that their employees are taken care of.”

On April 15, a civil war erupted between rival military factions in Sudan. The airport in the capital Khartoum has been caught up in the fighting with aircraft burning on the tarmac and commercial airlines halting flights.

A group of South Africans who escaped the Sudanese war started arriving at OR Tambo International Airport from Saturday and another batch of 51 landed on Saturday. Dirco had to produce 19 emergency documents as some people had left their passports behind when they fled Khartoum when the war erupted last month.

TimesLIVE