Japan Begins to Evacuate Nationals from Sudan

Evacuation of Japanese nationals in Sudan has begun by moving some of the about 60 Japanese from Khartoum to another city by land, according to sources.

An Air Self-Defense Force transport aircraft that was on standby in Djibouti left for Sudan on Monday, government sources said.

The Sudanese national military and a rival paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had agreed to a three-day ceasefire that began Friday.

“We are carefully responding to the matter while closely monitoring the situation in the area,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters in Tokyo earlier on Monday. “We will do our utmost to ensure the safety and evacuation of Japanese nationals in close cooperation with the relevant countries.”

The government is preparing the evacuation while observing the situation regarding the ceasefire and working to immediately transport the Japanese to Djibouti or other countries.

According to the Defense Ministry, the evacuation activities are being carried out by a unit of about 370 personnel from the ASDF and Ground Self-Defense Force.

Djibouti is home to the Self-Defense Forces’ facility for anti-piracy operations. Three ASDF aircraft — C-130 and C-2 transport planes and the KC-767 aerial refueling tanker — have arrived in Djibouti.