The Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri -Erewa has raised alarm over 7000 nationals including Nigerians who are not being allowed to cross the border into Egypt since their arrival late Thursday evening.
In a statement released by the Commission on Friday, while heavy fighting and insecurity caused by the clash of Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces in Sudan has driven tens of thousands to flee in search of safety.
The conflicting parties previously agreed to a three-day ceasefire that was due to expire late on Thursday, gave initial approval to extend the truce for another 72 hours and send an army envoy to the South Sudan capital, Juba, for talks.
Since the fighting erupted on April 15, air strikes, others have killed over 500 people, wounded nearly 4,200, destroyed hospitals and limited food distribution in the vast nation where a third of the 46 million people were already reliant on humanitarian aid.
The NIDCOM Boss called on those concerned with passages, movement of persons and services along contiguous borders of Sudan to create a humane condition for these Nationals to have unfettered access to their various destinations.
She added that the Nigerian mission in Egypt has been working tirelessly on this as the Egyptian authorities are insisting on visas by fellow Africans to transit back to their countries.
She appealed to the Egyptian authorities to kindly allow the already traumatised travellers to transit to their final destinations in various countries in Africa.
The Nigerian Goverment chartered forty 200-seater buses that arrived meeting point of International University Of Africa, Khartoum, Sudan’s capital city on Tuesday for the evacuation of stranded Nigerians to Cairo, Egypt.
While giving update on Thursday, the NIDCOM Boss said in a briefing that the first batch of stranded Nigerians in Sudan evacuated by the Federal Government will arrive Abuja, Nigeria on Friday, barring any unforeseen circumstances.
She said a total of 13 out of the buses hired to transport Nigerians from the troubled Sudan already left since Wednesday and moved by road to Border town of Aswan in Egypt where both the Embassy staff in Egypt and DG NEMA will receive the evacuees.
Meanwhile, UNHCR estimated that over 50,000 people have fled Sudan to Chad, Egypt, South Sudan and the Central African Republic which includes Sudanese nationals and refugees forced to return to their countries by the ongoing fighting.
Stating that the situation also remains deeply concerning on Sudan’s borders, where UNHCR is working with partners and Governments to deploy where it is possible and safe to do so.
While given the speed at which events are moving, as well as the constantly changing situation on the ground, precise numbers of new refugee arrivals are still hard to come by though expected to rise.
UNHCR said in Chad, together with the Government so far 7,500 verified refugees out of at least 20,000 who have crossed the border in the last week or so. Some 14,000 people have fled to South Sudan, mainly South Sudanese returning.
In Egypt, the Government has reported 16,000 crossings as the Agency is working with the UN, the Government and partners like Sudanese community leaders and the Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC) to support people fleeing and in need of international protection.
