South Korea evacuated its nationals from war-torn Sudan using a military aircraft Monday, Seoul's presidential office said, amid fierce fighting between rival forces in the African nation.
The C-130 aircraft carrying 28 South Koreans departed from an airport in Port Sudan in the country's eastern region to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, after they left the capital city of Khartoum by land the previous day, according to the presidential office.
After their arrival in Jeddah, they will then board a KC-330 transport aircraft to head to Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, just south of the capital, it added.
The presidential office said 26 of them will return home as two individuals did not want to immediately go back. It added there are 29 South Koreans in Sudan but one of them did not wish to leave the country.
The presidential office also said Seoul received support from friendly countries, including the United States, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, during the evacuation operation, named "Promise," and expressed "deep thanks."
It noted that some Japanese nationals accompanied the South Koreans to move out of the country.
The government plans to prepare interagency measures to accommodate the evacuated nationals once they arrive, such as checking their health status.
On Friday, South Korea dispatched a C-130J transport plane, carrying some 50 personnel, including security and medical staff, to evacuate South Korean nationals. The aircraft arrived at a U.S. military base in nearby Djibouti the next day.
President Yoon Suk Yeol also ordered the dispatch of the Cheonghae anti-piracy naval unit to waters off Sudan to protect South Korean nationals.
Source: Yonhap News Agency