RIYADH, 4 February 2008 — Saudi Arabia and France are working closely to evacuate Saudi citizens in Chad amid reports that fierce fighting was continuing between rebels and government forces in the former French colony.
The Saudi and French foreign ministries are coordinating their efforts for immediate evacuation of Saudi nationals, senior Saudi and French officials said here yesterday.
“The French ambassador in Riyadh is in touch with the Saudi ambassador in Ndjamena and also with French ambassador in the Chadian capital to work out modalities of the evacuation,” said Alain Guepratte, a spokesman of the French Embassy in Riyadh. France currently controls important utility points and installations, including the main airport in the African country.
Hundreds of foreigners have fled the country during the last three days.
“Special aircraft have been deployed and necessary arrangements have been made for evacuating Saudi Embassy personnel and citizens,” said a source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“All ministry officials were busy yesterday discussing the minute details of the evacuation plan and how to ensure safe repatriation of citizens currently trapped there,” said the source.
Eight diplomats and employees of the Saudi Embassy in Ndjamena are holed up at the Saudi ambassador’s house, said the source, adding there are some Saudi citizens, who need urgent help to fly out of that country.
The situation, he said, has become very serious after two members of a Saudi Embassy employee’s family were killed on Saturday, when what was apparently a stray bomb hit the ambassador’s residence, the Saudi Foreign Ministry announced earlier.
At the time of the explosion, all of the mission’s staff and their families were gathered in the ambassador’s residence in preparation for being evacuated, the spokesman added.
About 40,000 Chadians live and work in the Kingdom. This is in addition to a large number of Chadian overstayers, mainly in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.
