Marcos admits challenges of evacuating Filipinos from Sudan

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. admitted on Saturday the challenges of moving Filipinos out of conflict-torn Sudan.

“Malaking problema natin sa (We have a big problem in) Sudan. We have about 300 people in Sudan. Unfortunately, none of the airports are functioning. They are still under fire. Also, we cannot ascertain a secure land route for them to leave,” the President said.

"It is a long road from Khartoum to Cairo which is where our embassy is, that is in charge also of Khartoum and Sudan. But we are already preparing the assets that might be involved. We are just waiting to get better information as to whether or not it will be safe to bring our evacuees out of Khartoum, perhaps into Cairo,” he added. 

Filipinos in Sudan earlier appealed for help from Philippine authorities as they were running out of food amid the ongoing clashes, Katrina Son reported Friday on “24 Oras.”
 
Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs said its priority was to provide food and supplies to the Filipinos in Sudan.
 
The department also encouraged Filipinos in Sudan to coordinate with the DFA.
 
At least 86 Filipinos in Sudan wanted to move, while 49 Filipinos wanted to return to the Philippines.
 
The DFA said they would start overland repatriations in the next several days.
 
A Filipino was injured amid the ongoing clashes in Sudan.
 
The violence in Sudan erupted between the forces of the two generals who seized power in a 2021 coup: the army chief and his deputy, who commands the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
 
The World Health Organization said more than 400 people have been killed and over 3,500 others have been hurt in the fighting in Sudan.  —VBL, GMA Integrated News