Sudan generals unwilling to end fighting, UN chief discloses

• IOM: Over 1,000 arrive Ethiopia from Sudan daily
• FG: We need four aircraft to bring Nigerians back

The United Nations (UN) Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, has warned that the “will to end the fight still was not there” after speaking to Sudan’s rival military leaders.

Griffiths told the BBC that Sudan’s descent into violence was now at a dangerous tipping point. He called for security guarantees from the warring sides to allow humanitarian aid into the country.

The UN warned that the fighting could force hundreds of thousands of Sudanese to flee their homes.

In a BBC interview hours after his visit to Port Sudan, Griffiths spoke bluntly of what he called “the rigid existential fact that those at war are keen to keep it going”.

During his time in Sudan’s largest port, now a major evacuation and humanitarian hub, he had separate telephone conversations with Sudan’s rival generals.

Griffiths, the UN top aid official, called for their clear public commitments to guarantee urgent deliveries of aid. “This is about specific protections for the movement of aid workers and goods and supplies – going down roads at certain times, airlifts from being shot down,” he emphasised.

Meanwhile, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has said over 12,000 people have arrived in Metema, the border town between Sudan and Ethiopia, since fighting erupted on 15 April, many exhausted after the long and dangerous journey to safety.

IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) is currently recording over 1,000 daily arrivals, among them Sudanese citizens, returning Ethiopians and third country nationals (TCNs) from Türkiye, Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya, Nigeria and more than 50 other countries.

IOM is assisting those arriving in Ethiopia, including from countries whose embassies sent requests to support their nationals.

The support includes transportation from the border to Gondar and Addis Ababa, as well as accommodation at IOM’s Transit Centres for some. Many of those fleeing Sudan enter Ethiopia without resources and belongings. Without assistance, they risk being stranded at the small, remote border town.

Nearly 200 Kenyans, some of them students, over 200 Ugandans and more than 800 Somali nationals are among those who have been assisted.

The Federal Government has, however, said that if four aircraft were made available to move at once, every Nigerian in Sudan will be evacuated. The first group of some Nigerians stranded in Sudan arrived in Abuja on Wednesday night, after days of trying to escape persistent fighting.

According to Nigerian authorities, the evacuation plan covers more than 3,500 nationals, but their total number could be greater, as more than 5,000 Nigerians are believed to reside in Sudan, many of the students.

Nigerian commercial carrier Air Peace landed in the capital Abuja around 11:40 p.m. yesterday with 260 passengers, while a Nigerian Air Force plane arrived a few minutes later with about 94 passengers.

Chairman, of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, NiDCOM, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said if four aircraft can move at once, every Nigerian stranded in Sudan will be brought home.

She stated this at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja, while awaiting the arrival of the two aircraft from Egypt.

She said if four airplanes can move at once, everyone would definitely arrive, adding that another 3,000 stranded Nigerians were expected to return home.

According to Dabiri-Erewa, Egypt officials are insisting that the airplanes sent from Nigeria must be able to take the number of Nigerians available, otherwise, they will not be allowed to evacuate anyone.

She said: “If four planes go at the same time, they will bring everybody back. Most importantly, we hope those over there come back speedily.

“We are expecting that with the arrangements made by NEMA, it is going to be more planes because Egypt makes it difficult.

“Egypt says if the number of people you brought is let’s say 200 and the aircraft can only take 150, then nobody will leave.

“They want you to pick the number of people that you are bringing into their borders. At the Port Sudan, we are trying to get tickets because it is even more difficult to get a flight to Port Sudan but they have an airline.

“So they are processing them now to get them tickets and then they come back home. And if other airlines get the landing permit, they will quickly go to help evacuate them.

“At least, they are coming back home and we are glad no life was lost and priority was given to students, women and children. So, let’s just set our eyes on that,” she said.
Returnees recount ordeals

Meanwhile, the Nigerians that returned last night have said they suffered. A returnee female student told journalists they faced humiliation and slept in the open. “We spent all the money we had. We were so hungry and thirsty. They were harassing us sexually.

“There was no food, no water to drink. It got to a point we picked things from shops and ran away,” she said.
Another female student told the BBC Hausa Service that their legs were swollen due to long hours of stay in the bus.