Filipino Evacuees Travel To Egypt As Clashes Intensify In Sudan

KEY POINTS

Three Filipino employees of Saudi Airlines were repatriated a few days ago
At least 16 other Filipinos who left on their own the other day with their employers providing transport, a government official said
Opposing military groups in Sudan have agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire

The government has started the evacuation procedures of some 69 Filipinos from Sudan as violence continued in the country due to clashing military factions.

The evacuees are on their way to Egypt by land, the Department of Foreign Affairs said in this Inquirer report.

Foreign Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Eduardo de Vega said there were three Filipino women who were "repatriated a few days ago." He said they were employees of Saudi Airlines who traveled by water through the Port of Sudan to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia onboard a military vessel.

"Aside from the 50 Filipinos yesterday and the three Filipinas who were brought to Saudi Arabia, we know of at least 16 other Filipinos who left on their own the other day with their employers providing transport," de Vega told the outlet.

The government official also said that out of the 725 Filipinos who are registered in the Philippine Embassy in Cairo, at least 327 have sought assistance for repatriation.

Earlier, De Vega told the Philippine Star that the evacuation process in Sudan will be held in batches. He said they will be brought to Egypt's southern city of Aswan before they travel to Cairo. He said 156 documented Filipinos will be part of those who will be repatriated from Sudan.

As airports remain closed, Filipinos who are seeking government-led evacuation activities are advised to wait for the availability of transportation, the Philippine Embassy in Cairo said.

Opposing military groups have agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire as European, Arab and Asian nations cram evacuation activities amid tensions in Sudan, Aljazeera reported.

The U.S. and Saudi Arabia mediated the truce which is scheduled to begin at midnight on Monday.

The ceasefire agreement resulted from days of intense negotiations, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in the report. This came after the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) failed to follow temporary truce deals over the past week.