C T Online Desk: The first batch of 136 Bangladeshis who were among 1,500 stranded in crisis-hit Sudan arrived in Dhaka via Jeddah in Saudi Arabia on Monday.
A flight of state-run Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the Bangladeshi nationals from the Saudi city of Jeddah reached Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 10:30am, the airport officials said.
Expatriate welfare and overseas employment minister Imran Ahmed welcomed the evacuees at the airport.
The Bangladeshi nationals reached Jeddah on Sunday from Sudan by special flights of the Royal Saudi Air Force as fighting between the army and a paramilitary force continues in the African country.
Mohammad Javed Patwary, Bangladesh’s ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and consul general of Bangladesh in Jeddah Md Nazmul Hoque welcomed the Bangladeshis at Jeddah airport.
About 700 of 1,500 Bangladeshis living in Sudan registered their names for immediate evacuation as warring parties – Sudan’s regular army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces – have continued fierce fighting since April 15.
Of them, about 675 Bangladeshis have already been evacuated from Sudan’s capital Khartoum to Port Sudan to bring them back home by Biman through Jeddah with the support of Saudi authorities.
The Bangladesh Embassy in Saudi Arabia and the Bangladesh Consulate in Jeddah have made all preparations in this regard, according to foreign ministry officials.
Expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment minister Imran Ahmed on Monday said that the government had already allocated $2 lakh for the repatriation process.
He said that it would provide all possible financial assistance to returnees from Sudan while the International Organisation for Migration would also offer its support.
More Bangladeshis would reach today (Tuesday) and tomorrow (Wednesday), he said.
‘Our primary goal is to alleviate any inconvenience you may face during this difficult time,’ he said while receiving the returnees at the Dhaka airport.
‘Do not worry. You have contributed significantly to our country, but unfortunately, you have lost everything in Sudan.’
The returnees were provided with hot meals, refreshments and onward transportation allowance – Tk 3,000 from Wage Earners’ Welfare Board and Tk 2,000 from the IOM – to facilitating their safe return to their places of origin.
The government said that it was dedicated to ensuring the well-being of every Bangladeshi, no matter where they were in the world.
While the Bangladesh government in close coordination with its diplomatic missions in Sudan and Saudi Arabia made all necessary arrangements to ensure safe passage of more than 682 vulnerable Bangladeshis, their air travel from Jeddah to Dhaka was sponsored by the IOM with flight tickets and other necessary arrangements.
