Rohingya, Yemeni and Syrian refugees plead for help in Sudan

People had fled to Sudan to escape conflict and persecution in their home countries, but are now on the move again.

As evacuation flights in Sudan continue to return foreign diplomats and citizens to their countries or to safety in third countries, many people, including refugees, are left to fend for themselves.

Several towns in Sudan have been ravaged by fighting, despite a US and African push to extend a shaky ceasefire between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) group.

The conflict between the two warring sides has so far killed hundreds of people, closed more than 60 percent of hospitals and led to the displacement of thousands of people, according to various United Nations agencies.

Many Sudanese have fled to neighboring Egypt or are internally displaced. Vulnerable refugees who sought safety in Sudan are now desperate to leave the country.

This is evident from videos circulating on social media platforms Rohingya both refugees and Yemenis and Syrians trapped in Sudan with no clear method of evacuation. A Rohingya family is begging for help, with the father of one family – with two young children and a wife – saying the “situation is very bad”.

“We are afraid. We need a safe zone, because here the situation is very bad, very heavy fighting,” says the man, who has not been identified. He is seen holding a sign that reads, “Please help us.”

After fleeing persecution by the military in Myanmar, Rohingya refugees find themselves in the middle of another conflict, with no state or agency taking the lead in bringing them to safety.

The Rohingya are a predominantly Muslim ethnic group who have lived in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar for centuries. Since 1982 they have been denied citizenship in Myanmar, effectively rendering them stateless. Since the late 1970s, nearly one million Rohingya have fled Myanmar due to widespread persecution.

Students from Yemen are also stuck in Sudan, because their country is still embroiled in crises. A video on social media shows that several students say that the government has not offered any help.

“We, the Yemeni community in Khartoum, are appealing for help,” says one of the students detained in the Sudanese capital. “We, the students, are crying out for help after living under constant bombing, fighter jet firing, and the sounds of bombing.”

The student said his group had asked for help from their government in Yemen, “but to no avail”.

In Yemen, negotiations are currently continuing between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis to reach an agreement to end the conflict there that began in 2014.

Another video reportedly shows a group of Syrians trapped for days without an official response to their calls for help.

A man, who has not been identified, is heard saying that the number of Syrians who had gathered with him increased by the hour. “We are waiting for the Saudi consul to help us with the evacuation,” he said.

Saudi Arabia was one of the first countries to announce the evacuation of its stranded citizens from Sudan, as well as “several nationals of fraternal and friendly countries,” according to the Saudi foreign ministry.

The conflict in Syria began 12 years ago, when protesters took to the streets to demonstrate against the country’s government and President Bashar al-Assad.

The protests quickly took on a revolutionary character, demanding the “fall of the regime”, but after brutal crackdown by the government, the uprising turned into a war, dragging several outside powers, displacing millions and killing hundreds of thousands of people .

Syria’s economy has deteriorated and, according to the World Food Programme, 90 percent of the population now lives below the poverty line.

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