Evacuees from Sudan continue arriving in Saudi Arabia

At least 670 people who were evacuated from conflict-ridden Sudan arrived in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah on Friday, Al Arabiya reported.

An Indian ship with 326 on board docked in Jeddah Islamic Port while a Saudi-flagged ship with 52 people from 12 nationalities docked in King Faisal Naval Base.

Another Saudi-flagged ship with 295 people on board also arrived in Jeddah on Friday, the Kingdom’s foreign ministry said.

According to the ministry, this brings the total number of those evacuated from Sudan to 2,991 people of 80 nationalities.

European nations, China and others from around the world raced to extract thousands of their citizens from Khartoum after clashes erupted between forces loyal to Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and those of his deputy-turned-rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The army and RSF jointly staged a coup in 2021 but fell out during negotiations to integrate the two groups and form a civilian government four years after Omar al-Bashir was toppled.

Their rivalry has raised the risk of a wider conflict that could draw in outside powers.

At least 512 people have been killed and 4,193 wounded, according to official figures in Sudan, although the real toll is likely to be much higher.

The two factions agreed late on Thursday to prolong a ceasefire by 72 hours to allow for humanitarian access, but fighting flared in parts of the capital Khartoum on Friday, according to eyewitnesses and live video broadcasts.