Seoul announced on Friday that it would send a military aircraft and soldiers to remove South Korean citizens stuck in Sudan, where fighting has claimed hundreds of lives since it started last week.
Similar measures are being taken by Japan, which on Friday despatched a military jet to attempt and retrieve its residents from the country affected by the violence.
Violence broke out between soldiers loyal to Sudan’s army head Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who is in charge of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, on Saturday, resulting in the deaths of more than 300 individuals (RSF).
Despite requests for an end-of-Ramadan ceasefire from international powers, there was intense shooting and explosions on Friday in Khartoum, the country’s capital, and elsewhere in the nation.
The military C-130J transport jet and personnel will be dispatched by Seoul’s defense ministry to evacuate its citizens.
“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.
Until they are able to conduct the evacuation, the South Korean military troops and aircraft will be placed on standby at a nearby US military facility in Djibouti, it added.
According to Seoul’s foreign ministry, there are 26 South Koreans in the African nation, including diplomatic workers, who are awaiting evacuation.
President Yoon Suk Yeol requested assistance from authorities earlier on Friday, according to his office, after being informed on evidence indicating that the situation in Sudan would grow worse before it gets better.
Furthermore on Friday, the Self-Defense Forces of Japan (SDF) reported that a C-130 transport plane had left for Djibouti.
The SDF tweeted a picture of the aircraft taking off along with the statement, “swiftly conduct required arrangements for the transportation of Japanese personnel and others in the Republic of Sudan.”
Tokyo has reported that there are about 60 Japanese citizens in Sudan, including diplomatic personnel.