The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) has prepared aircraft to evacuate Thai nationals from Sudan while students there have called on the government to send help as quickly as possible.
Air force commander ACM Alongkorn Wannarot is worried about Thais in the strife-torn African country and has sent staff to meet with Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials about how to evacuate them, said AVM Prapas Sornchaidee, the RTAF spokesman.
The air force has prepared an Airbus A340-500 and a C-130 military transport aircraft for the operation, and is seeking permission to fly over countries on the route.
Fighting in Sudan erupted on April 15 between forces allied with two generals — army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) — who jointly seized power in a 2021 coup.
Reports said most Thais in Sudan are Thai-Muslim students from the deep South who are studying at the International University of Africa in Khartoum.
Checks by the foreign ministry showed that no Thais have been killed or harmed in the unrest, deputy government spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek said.
There are about 300 Thais living in Sudan, some 200 of whom are students at the university.
Evacuation has not been possible to date as the Khartoum airport has been out of action due to the fighting, she said.
Sudan’s army said on Saturday that it would facilitate the evacuation of foreigners trapped in the country but diplomats played down suggestions that departures were imminent.
Abdul Fattah Al-Burhan, the head of the armed forces, had received calls from several leaders who asked that he aid the repatriation of their nationals and he had agreed, the army said in a statement on Saturday.
The RSF on Friday also gave assurances that it would support the process.
A group of Saudi nationals has already left the country through Port Sudan, and a Jordanian group will follow suit, while the evacuation of other foreigners “is expected to begin in the coming hours”, the army said.
“The US, Britain, France and China will evacuate their diplomats and patrons by air with military transport aircraft,” it added.
Thais in Sudan can register with the Royal Thai Embassy in Cairo for emergency help and evacuation support, said Ms Rachada, adding that they can call +201-0194-01243 or get in contact by email consular.cai@mfa.go.th.
Kanchana Patarachoke, a ministry spokeswoman, said the ministry had approved a budget for the embassy in Cairo to give to the honorary consul in Khartoum to buy food and living necessities for Thais in Sudan.
According to the Isara News Agency, a Thai student in Sudan said a bomb had dropped near an air-raid shelter, scaring Thai students.
“We want the government to speed up help as fighting is intensifying and food is scarce,” the student said.
The World Health Organization said that 413 people had been killed and 3,551 injured in the Sudan conflict to date.
