SUDAN CONFLICT: ETHIOPIA BARRICADES FLEEING NIGERIAN STUDENTS, FACTIONS AGREE 72-HOUR CEASEFIRE

On Monday, the Federal Government revealed that several Nigerian students fleeing the turmoil in Sudan had been denied entry into Ethiopia, but said the problem was being handled.

The Federal Government stated that Nigerian authorities in Ethiopia were dealing with the problem and had sought clearance for the fleeing students, emphasizing that the students' decision to go on such a journey was perilous.

This came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Tuesday that Sudan's warring generals had agreed to a three-day truce beginning Tuesday (2200 GMT Monday), after earlier attempts to halt the conflict had failed.

"Following intense negotiation over the past 48 hours, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces have agreed to implement a nationwide ceasefire starting at midnight on April 24, to last for 72 hours," Blinken said in a statement two hours before the truce was to go into effect.

"During this period, the United States urges the SAF and RSF to immediately and fully uphold the ceasefire," Blinken said.

Blinken added that the US was also collaborating with allies to form a committee to negotiate a permanent ceasefire in Sudan, where a battle between competing generals erupted into deadly violence 10 days ago.

Foreign countries hurried to remove their nationals from Sudan as deadly combat between forces loyal to two rival generals entered its second week.

According to UN data, over 420 people have been murdered and others have been injured, raising worries of broader unrest and a humanitarian crisis in one of the world's poorest countries.

Dr Onimode Bandele, the Agency's Director of Special Duties, who also serves as the National Emergency Management Chairman of NEMA's Committee for the Evacuation of Stranded Nigerians from Sudan, said that the students' issue was being given the attention it deserved.

"Yea, you must have been reading on social media that some students got into a town at the border of Ethiopia and they have not been able to grant them passage.

"The Nigerian Ambassador in Egypt, Nura Rimi, confirmed to me that the ambassador in Ethiopia is working on that, and hopefully they should be able to get a passage," Bandele stated.

He did, however, clarify that "in our own humanitarian mission, self-evacuation is at the risk of the person involved." If you choose to self-evacuate, anything you encounter will be your headache because you did not listen to the officials who are there to help you.

"We empathise with them; we understand their situation; some of them are doing that out of panic or running to safety. But at the same time, self-evacuation has its own disadvantages.

"So, our appeal to Nigerians is that wherever they are, they should please wait for further instruction from the Federal Government, especially the ambassador that is with them in Sudan. He is there with his family too. It is not that he has run out and left them," Bandele stated.

The NEMA source also stated that the Federal Government had explored utilising the United Nations' services to evacuate Nigerians stranded in Sudan.

However, he claims that this did not work since the UN stated that it could no longer back anyone owing to the loss of five UN personnel in Sudan.

"We were looking at the possibility of using the UN Utility Service and he (Rimi) said the UN had released a message that they cannot guarantee helping anybody.

"This is because the UN has already lost five staff in Sudan. So they are looking for a way to protect themselves and cannot guarantee anybody," Bandele stated.

Students are scheduled to leave on Tuesday

The PUNCH also learned on Monday that the trapped Nigerian students would travel by vehicle from Khartoum, Sudan's capital, to Cairo, Egypt, on Tuesday morning.

It was learned that the road trip from Khartoum to Cairo would take approximately 28 hours and 27 minutes.

According to reports, the Federal Government said it was preparing to evacuate some 5,500 trapped Nigerians from Sudan via the Egyptian town of Luxor, and that it was requesting Egypt's assistance so that the stranded Nigerians could be transferred to Luxor.

However, in a letter dated 23 April 2023, written by the Charge D'Affaires, Haruna Garko, and seen by our correspondent on Monday, the Embassy of Nigeria in Sudan requested buses to transport students from Khartoum to Cairo at 6 a.m. on Tuesday.

The letter stated: "I am directed to request the services of your 200- seater buses to convey 3,500 Nigerian students from Khartoum to Cairo Egypt on 25 April 2023, at 6am."

Abdullah Zakari, a student at the International University of Africa, confirmed this event, "Tomorrow (Tuesday), we are going to leave for Egypt by 6am. We will go by road. It is a long journey though."

Umar Abubakar, President of the Jigawa State Students Association in Sudan, further stated, "All preparations from Khartoum have been put in place and by God's grace, we will leave tomorrow morning."

A Noble College student in Sudan, who requested anonymity, stated "The buses to convey the students are on the ground. All students would be evacuated by tomorrow morning to Cairo."