Ethiopia opens up airspace for Sudan evacuation efforts
A handout picture released by the Egyptian Army on April 24, 2023, shows Egyptian evacuees from Sudan disembarking upon landing in Cairo. - Multiple nations have scrambled to evacuate embassy staff and citizens by road, air and sea from chaos-torn Sudan, where fighting between the army and paramilitaries has killed hundreds.
What you need to know:
- Ministry's spokesperson, Ambassador Meles Alem, at a press briefing said that the Ethiopian government has so far granted 75 flight permits to 18 countries based on international humanitarian principles.
Ethiopia has opened up its air space to allow foreign countries to airlift their citizens out of Sudan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Thursday.
Ministry's spokesperson, Ambassador Meles Alem, at a press briefing said that the Ethiopian government has so far granted 75 flight permits to 18 countries based on international humanitarian principles.
France, America and Spain are the countries that have been given relatively many flight permits.
According to Ambassador Meles, Ethiopia has so far facilitated the evacuation of foreign citizens from 61 countries through its border.
"So far, 7,726 Ethiopians and foreign citizens of 61 countries have been evacuated from Sudan through Ethiopia," he said adding: "Out of the total evacuees, more than 3,500 are Ethiopians."
The ambassador said a task force has been established to facilitate the evacuation of Ethiopian citizens and other foreigners living in Sudan.
He, however, said that the number of Ethiopians residing in Sudan is up to one million, making it difficult to help all citizens in this difficult situation.
In recent days, Ethiopia has been receiving a large number of foreigners and citizens entering through Kurmuk and Metema border crossings, some with expired passports and others with no travel documents at all.
"Ethiopia believes that the problem in Sudan needs to be resolved through the AU and IGAD frameworks and any unilateral efforts are not acceptable. Ethiopia also believes that meddling in the internal affairs of Sudan would not solve the problem rather it will worsen the situation,” Mr Meles said.
Meanwhile, Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed held a discussion with the Special Envoy of the President of the Sovereign Council of Sudan on Thursday and discussed the current conflict.
During the meeting, Abiy called upon the warring parties to resolve their differences through dialogue.
"I reiterated Ethiopia's belief that Sudan will emerge from its current situation within a short time by utilizing the wisdom of its children and cordial engagement," Abiy tweeted after the meeting.
"I have called upon the conflicting parties to resolve their differences through dialogue," he added.
Prime Minister Abiy last week held phone discussions with both General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo on the need to settle differences amicably and bring stability to Sudan.
