FIFTY Filipinos, 49 of them Islam scholars, and one Filipino worker fled strife-torn Sudan via land to the Sudan-Egypt border Monday afternoon (evening Philippine time), sources told the BusinessMirror.
Gerald Asmali said he and 48 other colleagues immediately went to the designated meeting place set by the Philippine Honorary Consulate in Khartoum as soon as they learned of the opportunity to evacuate by land.
The 25-year-old Jolo native said he is one of the Filipino students at the International University of Africa in Khartoum. He was taking up his master’s degree in Islamic (Shariah) Law. Other Filipino students came from other provinces in Mindanao.
This is the first batch of Filipino evacuees who were extracted by the Philippine government. Last April 20, three Filipina flight attendants were evacuated by the Saudi government to the Port of Sudan and then ferried to Jeddah via the Red Sea.
A civil war erupted as the army and the RSF paramilitary group wrestled for power on April 15. Wire reports said millions of people were trapped in their homes, food and water running out. Local and
international NGOs monitored at least 427 were killed and more than 3,700 people were wounded in the past 11 days of bombings and gunbattle.
The Philippine Embassy in Cairo, which has consular jurisdiction over Sudan, has dispatched a bus to the border near Wādī Ḥalfā in northern Sudan.
From the border, the Filipino evacuees will be transferred to Aswan City in Egypt, and will then be flown to Cairo.
The Philippine Embassy said they have monitored that some Filipinos have already left on their own either by land to either the Egyptian border in the north or to Port Sudan in the east.
The Embassy advised those who fled on their own or with their employers towards Egypt to inform the Embassy in advance by message or mail so they can facilitate their entry.
“Find out whether the final destination of your bus is Wadi Halfa or Aswan. It is always better if your transportation will take you all the way to Aswan,” it added.
Those who face issues at the border in Egypt may contact the Embassy.
The Embassy said those who wait for Philippine Embassy-coordinated transportation should await their advice on the availability of transportation options.
“We will notify you at the appropriate time and gathering point, once options become available. Notifications will come through the Embassy or the Consulate,” it said.
The airports in Sudan remain closed.
Those who decide to go to Port Sudan should also inform the Embassy in advance.
The DFA said the number of Filipinos in Sudan who registered recently has reached 696. They are expecting the number to increase.
Contact number of the Philippine Embassy in Cairo:
WhatsApp/Mobile: (+20) 122 743 6472
Facebook/Messenger: PHinEgypt
Email: cairo.pe@dfa.gov.ph