Jakarta (ANTARA) - As many as 298 Indonesian citizens (WNIs) in Sudan will be immediately evacuated in the second stage of the evacuation process, Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi stated on Monday.
The initial plan was to evacuate all the WNIs simultaneously by making the most of the existing ceasefire agreement, she remarked.
"However, due to the limitation of fuel required for buses transporting the WNIs and other evacuees, the evacuation process could not be done in a single stage," the minister stated during an online press conference.
Due to this limitation, evacuation of the 298 WNIs, most of whom were students and only five company employees, was postponed for the second stage.
In the first stage, the Indonesian government had successfully evacuated a total of 538 WNIs from Sudan's capital of Khartoum, where the clash between the Sudan military and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary is centered.
However, the minister admitted that the evacuation process was not an easy task, as it was being conducted in the midst of the ongoing armed conflict.
With that in mind, the government is doing its best to prepare well-calculated measures while prioritizing the safety of Indonesians.
"I keep myself updated on every hour of the evacuation process and report it to Mister President (Joko Widodo)," she noted.
During the process, the Indonesian government continues to establish close coordination with the Sudanese authorities to ensure a safe and secure passage for the WNIs.
Indonesian envoys in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where the WNIs will temporarily reside before flying back to Indonesia, are also communicating with Saudi authorities to ensure that the evacuation process will run smoothly.
"I urge every WNI that remains in Sudan and has yet to report to the Indonesian Embassy in Khartoum to do so immediately, so that no one will be left behind in the second stage (of the evacuation)," Marsudi stated.
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