The government will proceed to evacuate Greek citizens from Sudan unless a safe way out for them can be found, Deputy Foreign Minister for Diaspora Greeks Andreas Katsaniotis has said.
There are approximately 150 Greeks among the 1,000 European citizens in Sudan, where fighting is raging between the armed forces and Sudan’s largest paramilitary force, the minister said.
Fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed at least 185 people and injured more than 1,800, amid airstrikes and fighting in Khartoum and strife across Sudan. Their power struggle has derailed a shift to civilian rule and raised fears of a wider conflict.
“If a safe way out is not found, we will not proceed with evacuations,” Katsaniotis told public broadcaster ERT.
“At the moment, efforts are being made to look at all possibilities, because even the airport is not working. So, a safe way must be found … [otherwise] it could become even more dangerous.”
Fifteen Orthodox Christians – including some Greeks – are trapped in the Metropolitan Church of the Annunciation.
“We have told the metropolitan to remain in the church as the others remain in their homes,” said Katsaniotis. Regarding the Greeks that have been injured, he stated that their condition remains stable.
“From the first moment, on April 15, the Greek Foreign Ministry recommended to Greeks not to travel to Sudan, but also to the Greeks there to restrict their movements and this is what we are saying now: They should stay home. The Greeks there are not a target, but they are in the midst of combatants.”
“The French are those who have the most people trapped and they are currently in charge of operations on behalf of the EU,” he said.
Katsaniotis said Foreign Minister Dendias has activated the ministry’s crisis management unit and is in communication and coordinating with the rest of the EU member-states through the consular cooperation system.
Source : ekathimerini.com
