The Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Force declared a three-day ceasefire for many countries to make efforts in evacuating their citizens from the nation.
The Nigerian government released the sum of N150m for hiring 40 buses to convey some stranded Nigerians from Sudan to Cairo in Egypt, from where they would be airlifted back to Nigeria.
However, some of the Nigerian students that have been evacuated to safety zones shared some bitter experiences about the journey.
An anonymous student said the drivers of the hired buses vowed not to continue the journey due to lack of funds.
The student said, “Before we started this journey, we experienced different things. Can you believe that we have been stuck in this desert for 5 hours? We don’t know the situation we are in.
“We don’t have water. Our money has finished. Can you imagine? The drivers said they are not moving their buses because they have not been paid. We are stuck in the desert. We don’t have anything. We don’t even know where we are. We are in an unknown location and in a very big danger.”
Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa had confirmed that the evacuation had begun and Geoffrey Onyeama, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Zubairu Dada, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, had said they wanted to utilise the 72-hour ceasefire to evacuate as many Nigerians in Sudan as possible.
There are about 5,500 Nigerians, including students who were stranded in Khartoum and other cities of Sudan as a result of the ongoing conflict as a result of the clashes that broke out between erstwhile allies, General Abdel al-Burha, who heads the Sudanese Armed Forces and leader of the RSF paramilitary group, General Mohamed Dagalo, over a power-sharing disagreement.
Intelligent reports revealed that the conflict had claimed about 500 lives with thousands of others injured and millions displaced.
Millions of frightened residents were seen squatting inside their homes with many running out of food and water, while some citizens were fleeing Khartoum in a long-United Nations convoy.
The Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and staff of the Nigerian commission in Egypt and Ethiopia are currently on the ground at the Egyptian border in Aswan to receive close to 40 luxury buses conveying Nigerians who had left the Sudanese capital, Khartoum by road.