Cyprus is a safe port in E. Mediterranean for Sudan evacuees says MFA

Cyprus is a safe port in the Eastern Mediterranean region, Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos, said on Friday,.

He added that Cyprus will continue the efforts for the evacuation of civilians from Sudan until the operations are completed.

The Minister was speaking to the press after the meeting of the Ministerial Crisis Management Team – comprising of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Defence, Interior and Justice and Public Order- that took place at the «Zenon» Coordination Centre, in Larnaca. The Minister of Transport also took part in the meeting.

During the meeting, presided by Kombos, they assessed the situation following the activation of the “Estia” National Plan on April 25.

Due to the situation in Sudan, the Minster said, it is expected that more civilian evacuation operations will follow.

“Our services at the “Zenon” Coordination Centre have demonstrated that they are ready to handle this complex task,” he stressed.

The Minister noted that the state has activated all the mechanisms at its disposal and through the National “Estia” Plan Cyprus is providing humanitarian, consular and medical aid to the evacuated civilians from Sudan arriving in Cyprus, adding that all relevant state services as well as volunteers are at the “Zenon” Centre contributing to the task.

So far, he said, 1,560 civilians from 13 different countries arrived to Cyprus from Sudan and 1,043 have departed. “Today April 28, four flights landed and more are expected”, he pointed out. A total of 13 flights landed from April 25 until today and it is expected that this will continue at least for the next few days, he continued.

Regarding the evacuation of Cypriot citizens and their family members, the Minister said that 15 people are in safe territory, fourteen of them are in Cyprus and one other is in Greece, while regarding the seven people who were traveling by road to Egypt, five of them have arrived in Egypt safely and the remaining two are near the border. Our Embassy in Cairo, he added, will pick them up when they cross.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs said that it becomes evident that Cyprus, due to its location, but also its infrastructure, is a safe port in our region, adding that it is a safe transit hub for civilians. He recalled that this was the case back in 2006 following the events in Lebanon.

“We will continue the effort until this very important operation is completed”, he stressed.

Concluding, he thanked everyone who is working tirelessly to offer assistance all those who arrive in Cyprus