Somto BisinaThe Federal Government has commenced the process of evacuating Nigerian students stranded in Sudan. At least 420 people have been killed and over 3,700 injured following the deadly fight raging between forces loyal to two rival military generals in the country.
Thousands of international students from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia have been stranded across Sudan due to factional fighting that erupted on April 15.
The majority of foreign students trapped in universities and cities such as Khartoum are from Nigeria, Egypt, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Chad, South Sudan, and Somalia.
According to reports, at least 5,000 Nigerian students are stranded in Sudan. Many of them lack essential supplies and communication channels.
Arabic world education publication Al-Fanar has estimated that there were over 15,000 international students from Arab countries enrolled in Sudanese universities in 2019.
These students were spread across the country in 38 public universities and over 100 private institutions. Non-Arab countries such as Nigeria have one of the highest numbers of students in Sudan, and plans are underway to evacuate an initial batch of 3,500 stranded students.
The Nigerian Embassy in Khartoum has urged students to remain calm and stay indoors while preparations to move them out of Sudan are being finalized. The embassy advised students to disregard the National Association of Nigerian Students’ alleged plans to flee the chaos through Sudan’s southern neighbour, Ethiopia.
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The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission confirmed that they had requested a safe exit from the country. Despite sporadic gunfire, a 72-hour truce has been declared and appears to be holding. Different countries are expected to step up evacuation efforts as the ceasefire period came to an end on April 28.
Sudan’s power struggles and political turmoil have resulted in the closure of several universities since 2019. This, combined with poor economic conditions and rising living costs, has resulted in a significant decrease in the number of international students.
The fighting has killed over 400 people, and over 3,500 people have been injured since the conflict between Sudan’s Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces began.
With many international students coming from low and middle-income countries, few have been evacuated to safety, even though major world powers such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Russia, Japan, and the European Union have begun airlifting citizens out of the war-torn country.
The government must explore all options to ensure the safe evacuation of all stranded international students from Sudan.
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