“The plane designated to evacuate Iraqi citizens from Port Sudan arrives at Baghdad international airport, carrying (165) individuals, including dozens of Sudanese and Syrians” read a statement from Ahmed al-Sahaf, the spokesperson of the Iraqi foreign ministry.
Iraq has evacuated a total of 595 individuals from Sudan since late April. The previous round of evacuation on May 12 brought back 126 Iraqis as well as 16 Syrians and Sudanese nationals to Baghdad.
Intense fighting broke out in Sudan on April 15 between forces of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the commander of the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), more commonly known as Hemeti.
Over 2,000 people have been killed since the start of the war, and over two million people have been displaced, according to the US-based Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED). An Iraqi national is among the casualties.
Sudan’s neighbors have begun receiving people fleeing the country. The United Nations on Friday called on these governments not to return Sudanese to their home country.
"We're advising governments not to return people to Sudan because of the conflict that's going on there," Elizabeth Tan, UNHCR's director of international protection, said during a press briefing on May 5.
