Today the United Nations temporarily relocated its internationally-recruited personnel from Khartoum to Port Sudan for onward evacuation to neighboring countries where they will work remotely, as a measure to reduce risks to the safety of its personnel while continuing to deliver assistance to the people of Sudan.

About 700 UN, international NGOs (INGOs) and embassy staff and their dependents have reached Port Sudan by road.

43 UN internationally-recruited and 29 INGOs staff have already been evacuated from El Geneina (West Darfur) and Zalingei (Central Darfur) to Chad while other operations are ongoing or planned.

A small number of internationally recruited personnel, including the Special Representative of the Secretary-General Volker Perthes, will remain in Sudan and will continue to work towards a resolution to the current crisis and returning to the UN mandated tasks.

The UN is also taking necessary measures to protect Sudanese staff members and their families and is exploring every possible avenue to support them.

The UN in Sudan has 877 international staff and 3,272 national staff, for a total of 4,149.

“Our presence on the ground has been adjusted in light of the security situation but let me assure you that there is no plan or thinking of the UN leaving Sudan,” said the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for Sudan. “We are committed to staying in Sudan and supporting the Sudanese people in every way possible. We will do everything we can to save lives while protecting the safety of our personnel.”

SRSG Volker Perthes will continue to use his good offices, in close coordination with partners, to deescalate tensions and bring an end to hostilities in Sudan.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS).