Syrian government abandons nationals in Sudan
ERBIL, KRI, Iraq (North Press) – A Syrian citizen stranded in Port Sudan in northern Sudan said the Syrian embassy publicly announced they cannot take action to help them.
He talked about the difficult situation there as it costs them $100 to stay at the assembly area.
Syrians stranded in Sudan continue to call for help. Several calls were made through North Press to report their suffering amid ongoing battles since April 15.
A Syrian source present in Port Sudan said, “it unbearable,” calling the international community to assist them since the Syrian government neglected them unlike other states.
The bloody battles in Sudan between the army and the Rapid Support Forces has killed at least 500 people and injured thousands, while the number of casualties is expected to be much higher as a result of the ongoing fighting.
The number of Syrian victims reached at least 15, most of whom took refuge in Sudan in the last ten years, looking for source of livelihood amid the deteriorating living conditions in Syria.
Since the fighting erupted, hundreds of Syrians, among thousands of people of other nationalities, have gathered in the Port Sudan region, a coastal city in the northeast of the country on the west coast of the Red Sea, awaiting evacuation.
Unlike other governments, many accused the Syrian government and its embassy in Sudan of failing to take action and evacuate its citizens.
The source told North Press that “There are hundreds of Syrians here. We stand long hours under the burning sun, moving here and there and looking for a way out. We thought the Syrian embassy could do something to help us, but it seems it has abandoned us.”
“Staying in Port Sudan, though relatively far from conflict zones, costs $100 for one night. Many of us cannot afford to stay in hotels and houses,” he added.
On April 28, a stranded Syrian in Port Sudan told North Press that “employees in the embassy are taking bribes from Syrians in return for getting them out.”
In the circumstances described as tragic by stranded Syrians, many appeal to Saudi Arabia as it approves the temporary evacuation of Syrians with first-degree relatives in Saudi Arabia.
However, this step was affected by nepotism, and Riyadh did not respond to their request for evacuation despite presenting papers proving that they had relatives, as some of them confirmed.
On April 26, the Syrian government merely thanked those states that had contributed to the evacuation of some Syrian nationals present in Sudan through a statement issued by its Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates.
On April 28, dozens of Syrians stuck in Port Sudan protested against the inaction of the officials of the Syrian Embassy and their mistreatment of Syrian nationals in the current crisis.