South Korea has dispatch a military transport aircraft and 50 military personnel, including security and medical staff, to evacuate its nationals from Sudan as fighting between the country’s armed forces and paramilitary groups continues to escalate.
The evacuation mission was set into motion after the National Security Office reported the worsening situation in Sudan to President Yoon Suk Yeol. President Yoon ordered Seoul’s foreign and defense ministries to undertake swift measures to protect “the safety of our overseas nationals under all circumstances.”
The planned evacuation will involve a C-130J transport aircraft, which will fly to a U.S. military base in Djibouti. This move comes as the airport in Sudan’s capital Khartoum is currently closed amid ongoing fighting.
Clashes between the Sudanese military and the rival Rapid Support Force (RSF), led by rival generals, broke out across Sudan on Saturday after the RSF launched a surprise attack on multiple Sudanese army bases. The two sides struck a ceasefire that was supposed to begin on Tuesday night, as well as another set to take effect on Wednesday evening, but neither agreement has been able to stem the ongoing bloodshed.
Fierce fighting has continued unabated, especially in Khartoum, where the RSF has managed to capture several government ministries and is using these “civilian institutions to manage their combat activities,” according to the Sudanese military.
South Korea has 40 Korean nationals in Sudan, of which 38 reside in Khartoum, according to the Korean Foreign Ministry’s last survey of overseas Korean nationals published in 2021. The Korean military contingent charged with carrying out the evacuation will be on standby at the U.S. military base in Djibouti, watching the situation and prioritizing the safety and evacuation of their nationals.
The Defense Ministry emphasized that South Korea will undertake all necessary measures to ensure the safety and security of their nationals in Sudan.
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