A total of 136 Bangladeshi nationals, who were among those stranded in conflict-ridden Sudan, arrived in Dhaka via Jeddah of Saudi Arabia on Monday, as part of government’s evacuating the Bangladeshis from there, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
A flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the Bangladeshi nationals left Jeddah around 1am Monday and reached Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 10:30 am, said Seheli Sabrin, spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry.
Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmed welcomed the Bangladeshi nationals 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 Jeddah airport.
According to the sources, about 1,500 Bangladeshi citizens live in Sudan, who can register to come back to the country, after which they will be brought back in phases. Bangladesh Embassy in Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh Consulate in Jeddah have made all preparations in this regard, sources added.
Earlier, 675 Bangladeshi nationals looking to leave crisis-hit Sudan reached Port Sudan from Khartoum.
“Those who are without passports have already been provided with travel permits,” State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam said in a Facebook post on Thursday.
Bd-pratidin English/Lutful Hoque
