Pretoria - Negotiations are under way as the government intervenes in a bid to bring home another group of South African nationals fleeing the armed conflict in Sudan where they were employed.
The South Africans are stuck in a boat in the port of Safaga in Egypt after fleeing from Sudan where they had been reportedly working on a project.
Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands wounded since war erupted on April 15, following a heated power struggle between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Newzroom Afrika reported on Monday morning that the group of 22 South Africans had been evacuated from Sudan, using a boat, by their employer.
However, the evacuation mission hit a snag in Cairo as some in the group did not have the requisite travel documents.
“We are contacted (because) the people are now stuck here, although initially when they planned and made arrangements, they didn’t inform us, they didn’t involve us. Because these are South African nationals, we have now activated our team in Cairo, at the South African embassy… we are now dealing with this matter,” Dirco spokesperson Clayson Monyela told Newzroom Afrika.
“We have now engaged our counterparts at the foreign ministry in Egypt to secure the necessary clearance so that our nationals can now get off the boat, catch a flight in Cairo and come home safely, like the one that we safely evacuated.”
On Sunday, International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor was joined by Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi and Defence and Military Veterans Minister Thandi Modise at the OR Tambo International Airport where a group of at least 51 South Africans evacuated from Sudan arrived home.
Another batch of 10 South Africans evacuated from Sudan had landed at home on Saturday, on a commercial airline.
IOL