In Pictures

Photos: Crowds of those seeking rescue swell at Sudan’s seaport

The fighting has displaced at least 334,000 people inside Sudan and sent tens of thousands more to neighbouring countries.

People fleeing war-torn Sudan queue to board a boat from Port Sudan — People fleeing war-torn Sudan queue to board a vessel leaving Port Sudan. [AFP]

Crowds of exhausted Sudanese and foreigners are growing at Sudan’s main seaport as they wait to be evacuated from the chaos-stricken nation.

After more than two weeks of fighting, areas of the capital, Khartoum, appear increasingly abandoned.

Civilians have packed on buses and trucks going tor the northern border with Egypt. Many have also headed to Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast.

The relative calm of the port city, from which many foreign governments have evacuated their citizens, seemed the safer option.

“Much of the capital has become empty,” said Abdalla al-Fatih, a Khartoum resident who fled with his family to Port Sudan on Monday. He said they had been trapped for two weeks, and that by now, everyone on his street had left.

When they arrived in Port Sudan after a 20-hour journey, they found thousands, including many women and children, camping outside the port area. Many had been in the open air for more than a week with no food or basic services in the sweltering heat. Others crowded into mosques or hotels in the city.

The fighting has displaced at least 334,000 people inside Sudan and sent tens of thousands more to neighbouring countries like Egypt, Chad, South Sudan, the Central African Republic and Ethiopia, according to UN agencies. Aid workers are increasingly concerned about lack of basic services in these areas.

Almost 1,000 people arrive daily at the border with Ethiopia, Paul Dillon, a spokesman for the International Organization for Migration, said at a news briefing in Geneva on Tuesday.

At least 20,000 people have crossed into Chad, whose border is near the Darfur city of el-Geneina, where fighting last week killed dozens of people and wounded hundreds.

Sudanese citizens wait with their luggage at a makeshift center to be processed for evacuation, following the crisis in Sudan's capital Khartoum, in Port Sudan — Sudanese wait with their luggage at a makeshift processing centre to be evacuated from Port Sudan. [El Tayeb Siddig/Reuters]

A picture taken on April 30, 2023, shows a member of the US military assisting US nationals fleeing war-torn Sudan in boarding an evacuation vessel in Port Sudan amid ongoing deadly clashes between Army forces and paramilitaries — A member of the United States military helps US nationals fleeing Sudan in boarding an evacuation vessel in Port Sudan. [AFP]

Saudi naval and special forces hoist evacuees aboard a vessel during a rescue operation from Port Sudan to Jeddah — Saudi naval and special forces help evacuees board a vessel during a rescue operation from Port Sudan to Jeddah. [Fayez Nureldine/AFP]

Sudanese families are seen inside a truck after the crisis in Sudan's capital Khartoum on their way to Egypt through the Qustul border in the Sudanese city of Wadi Halfa, Sudan — Sudanese families ride in a truck on their way to Egypt through the Qustul border crossing in the Sudanese city of Wadi Halfa. [Heba Fouad/Reuters]

European, Asian and African nationals prepare to board a ship to Saudi Arabia, at Port Sudan — European, Asian and African nationals prepare to board a ship to Saudi Arabia at Port Sudan. [Ibrahim Mohammed Ishak/Reuters]

In this screen grab taken from video, Sudanese and foreigners arrive in Port Sudan — Thousands of Sudanese and foreigners are arriving at Port Sudan, the country's main seaport, as the flee fighting between the army and Rapid Support Forces paramilitary. [Smowal Abdalla/AP]

British nationals prepare for check regulations for evacuation at a hotel at the port, as clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese army continue, in Port Sudan — British nationals at a hotel in Port Sudan prepare for a document check before evacuation. [Reuters]

A ferry transports some 1900 evacuees across the Red Sea from Port Sudan to the Saudi King Faisal navy base in Jeddah, on April 29, 2023, during evacuation efforts of people fleeing Sudan — A ferry transports about 1,900 evacuees across the Red Sea from Port Sudan to Jeddah. [Fayez Nureldine/AFP]