South Korea to send military aircraft for Sudan evacuation 

Seoul said Friday it would send a military aircraft and soldiers to evacuate South Korean nationals stranded in Sudan, where hundreds of people have died since fighting broke out last week.

More than 300 people have been killed after violence erupted Saturday between forces loyal to Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

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There was heavy gunfire and explosions in the capital Khartoum and elsewhere in the country Friday, despite appeals by world powers for an end-of-Ramadan ceasefire.

Seoul’s defense ministry said it would send a military C-130J transport jet and troops to evacuate its nationals.

“The fighting in Sudan still continues and the Khartoum International Airport in the capital city, where our nationals are located, is closed,” the ministry said in a statement sent to AFP.

The South Korean aircraft and military personnel will be put on standby at a nearby US military base in Djibouti until they are able to carry out the evacuation, it added.

There are 26 South Koreans, including diplomatic staff, who are waiting to be evacuated, according to Seoul’s foreign ministry.

President Yoon Suk Yeol called on officials to help get the Koreans to safety earlier Friday, his office said, after being briefed with information suggesting the situation in Sudan could further worsen in the days ahead.

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