JEDDAH: Another 200-plus people, including five Saudi citizens, have arrived in Jeddah after being evacuated from Sudan on the ship HMS Abha, the Kingdom’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
It came as the Saudi government continued its relentless efforts to get its own citizens, as well as those of other countries, clear of the violent conflict in Sudan.
In addition to the five Saudis, 198 people from other countries, including Russia, the UK, China, the US, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Singapore, Cambodia, Malaysia and Pakistan, were on board the ship that docked at King Faisal Naval Base.
The total number of people evacuated from Sudan by Saudi Arabia now stands at 2,351: 119 Saudi citizens and 2,232 from 67 other countries.
They were among several groups of evacuees that have arrived in Saudi Arabia by air and sea in the past few days, beginning on Saturday with 150 people, including foreign diplomats and other officials, on boats that docked in Jeddah.
At about 11:30 p.m. on Monday, another Saudi ship arrived at the city’s port from Sudan with 10 Saudi nationals and 189 foreigners on board. It was followed at midnight on the same night by a vessel carrying 104 Libyans, 45 Lebanese, 15 Syrians, four Sudanese, three Iraqis, two Turks and a Swedish national. Other evacuees included 10 Saudi citizens, five Brits, two citizens of each of Qatar, the US and Italy, three from the Netherlands and one from Tanzania.
Early on Wednesday, the Saudi-flagged ship Amana arrived at King Faisal Naval Base from Port Sudan carrying 1,687 people, representing 58 nationalities. They included 46 Americans, 40 Britons, 11 Germans, four French, 13 Saudis, 560 Indonesians, 239 Yemenis, 198 Sudanese and 26 Turkish citizens. As they disembarked they were welcomed by base officials and diplomats from various countries.
Meanwhile, the French frigate Lorraine also arrived at Jeddah Islamic Port on Wednesday carrying French citizens, UN staff and employees of nongovernmental organizations, and their families.
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The French consul general in Jeddah, Catherine Corm-Kammoun, confirmed the arrival of the French Navy ship and said the passengers had disembarked in full cooperation and coordination with Saudi authorities.
The General Directorate of Passports announced it had completed official procedures for the arrival of all the Saudi citizens and foreign nationals evacuated from Sudan so far. The procedures for those who had arrived with no entry visas or even, in some cases, passports were completed in cooperation with the embassies of their respective countries, it added.
