The 75 Indonesians were evacuated from Port Sudan to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and then flown back to Indonesia. Their flight to Jakarta transited through Muscat, Oman, and Aceh.
"At least 344 Indonesians have boarded the TNI's air force aircraft, as well as 15 foreigners whose governments had requested assistance from our Foreign Ministry to repatriate their citizens," said TNI AU Chief of Staff, Air Chief Marshal Fadjar Prasetyo, who welcomed the evacuees at the airport.
The 15 foreigners, who were accommodated on the flights from Port Sudan to Jeddah, were from Australia, Sudan, and Djibouti, he added.
The Chief of Staff commended the success of the evacuation operation, attributing it to the collaboration between the military, the Foreign Ministry, and Indonesian representatives in Saudi Arabia and Sudan.
"(The success) is due to cooperation among all parties, particularly with the Foreign Ministry, through our embassies (in Sudan) and Saudi Arabia, as well as TNI officers there," Prasetyo said.
After their arrival, the 75 Indonesians underwent health checks and were transported to the Hajj Dormitory in East Jakarta to rest, he added.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry's Director-General of Protocol and Consular Affairs, Andy Rachmianto, said that a total of 930 Indonesians were evacuated from Port Sudan to Jeddah, and 823 of them returned to Jakarta in three groups.
"This is the third group of Indonesians repatriated from Sudan. The first group returned on April 28, while the second group was yesterday (April 30), both on Garuda Indonesia aircraft. Today, by evacuating another 75 Indonesians, we have repatriated a total of 823 Indonesians," the official said.
The repatriation of the remaining 107 Indonesians in Jeddah is being arranged, and they will return to Indonesia on commercial flights.
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Translator: Genta Tenri M, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Anton Santoso
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