The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today that Ethiopia has been processing the evacuations citizens of 50 countries from Sudan based on their request following the ongoing conflict.
Foreign Affairs State Minister, Ambassador Mesganu Arga briefed diplomatic community and representatives of international organizations on the ongoing situation in Sudan.
Mesganu said that Ethiopia is mobilizing resources, and setting up checkpoints in the border area to assist the international community who made requests of evacuation through Ethiopia’s border areas.
The country has received official request of evacuations from 50 countries and processed those demands accordingly.
“Ethiopia is receiving refugees from different countries. We are very much open and welcoming for refugees and as the same time it is our international obligation to extend evacuation support to those who made official request through the diplomatic channels,” he noted.
However, setting up checkpoints in those areas requires logistics and intergovernmental coordination and mobilization for immigration, he said.
Thus, it has resulted in a huge mobilization of evacuation from Sudan and this is another burden on Ethiopia, which the international community should support it, he said.
“We want the international community to understand the magnitude of this process. Thus, we have received official evacuation requests from 50 countries and processed those demand accordingly.”
The country has even prepared emergency flight landing in Bahir Dar city and small aircrafts have been allowed to land in Gondar airport to accelerate the evacuation process, he also indicated.
With the situation in Sudan, Mesganu reminded that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed recently called on all parties to immediately stop fighting and called for an immediate ceasefire.
“We believe that would help the Sudanese people at large. As a neighboring country, we have a direct interest and are affected by that conflict. So the wider region of the Horn of Africa and its sub-region is highly affected by this conflict.”
Therefore, calling for immediate ceasefire and cessation of hostilities is very much urgent and top agenda, he pointed out.
In this regard, interfering and meddling in the internal affairs of Sudan, Ethiopia condemns this kind of activities for such acts will further exacerbate the situation, the state minister stressed.
“So we call on the international community to condemn any kind of external interference in the affairs of Sudan. Ethiopia is closely monitoring the situation and we don’t want to see the suffering of the Sudanese people and we don’t want to see a weak government in Sudan. So the international community should support ending this kind of conflict and we need to support the political solution.”
Source: Ethiopian News Agency