DHAKA: Families of Bangladeshis trapped in Sudan fear for their safety with government assistance only expected to begin next week, after the expiry of a ceasefire between the two warring Sudanese factions.
Mass evacuations of foreigners from Sudan have been underway since Monday after a ceasefire was agreed between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Since fighting broke out on April 15, more than 500 people have been killed and at least 4,200 injured.
The truce was due to expire on Friday, but the military and RSF accepted its extension by a further 72 hours.
The ceasefire has not stopped all the fighting but has allowed thousands of people to flee to safer areas. Evacuations over land to neighboring Egypt and by sea to Saudi Arabia have been the main routes as Sudan’s major airports have become battlegrounds.
Some Bangladeshis were among the nearly 2,800 people brought to safety by Saudi forces, but most of those in the Sudanese capital Khartoum registered for help with their own embassy, which is still organizing help.
“On May 2, the stranded Bangladeshis will be transported to (Port Sudan) from Khartoum by bus, and later on, they will be transported to Jeddah. From Saudi Arabia, Bangladeshi citizens will take a flight to Dhaka,” Shah Mohammad Tanvir Monsur, director general of the consular and welfare wing of the Bangladeshi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Arab News.
Monsur said that as of Thursday evening, 700 Bangladeshis, or half of those living in Sudan, have registered for evacuation.
The scheduled date is, however, past the expiry of the current ceasefire, further increasing the concerns of desperate families.
Tanjina Akter from Raipura, about 65 km from Dhaka, has not heard from her husband Moktar Hossain for the past few days.
“When he last talked with me four days ago, he was without any food, electricity and water. My husband and his colleagues couldn’t come out of their home,” Akter told Arab News.
Her husband has been working as a professional driver in Khartoum for nine years. “During our last conversation, he was crying and couldn’t say much. He said we may not hear from him again ... My husband talked about a lot of firing and mortar shelling around him. He was frightened.”
Mohammad Zahangir Miah, the brother of Monir Hossain, another Bangladeshi worker in Sudan, said he has been in touch with him and that all the news developments were increasingly worrying.
“We watch the war updates on television every day. My younger brother also shared some photos of war destruction on Facebook. All these things made us frightened. He lives beside the Khartoum airport. This area came under severe gun attacks of gun shells and my brother is fearing for his life,” Miah told Arab News.
Hossain and some other Bangladeshis were supposed to travel to Port Sudan earlier this week, but no bus was available from Khartoum.
“They are short of food, electricity, and daily essentials. We are at a loss what to do in this situation ... I plead with the government to bring my brother back as soon as possible,” he said.
“Every moment we are praying to the Almighty for his safety.”
