Entry of some Sudan evacuees into Egypt delayed by lack of travel documentation
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation says there have been some issues around travel documentation during its evacuation of South Africans from Sudan.
Deputy director-general at the department, Clayson Monyela, says eight South Africans, seven Angolans and one national from Lesotho left the violence-torn country without their travel documentation.
This led to them being refused entry into Egypt.
The evacuations came amid a US-brokered ceasefire between Sudan's warring generals.
The ceasefire entered its second day on Wednesday but remained fragile after witnesses reported fresh air strikes and paramilitaries claimed to have seized a major oil refinery and power plant.
Security fears were compounded when the World Health Organization (WHO) warned Tuesday of a "huge biological risk" after fighters occupied a Khartoum laboratory holding samples of cholera, measles, polio and other infectious diseases.
Monyela says DIRCO is in talks with their Egyptian counterparts in an effort to gain entry for the undocumented people.
Those who are in possession of the necessary documentation were granted entry into Egypt and will be brought home soon..
Humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers also scheduled a bus to evacuate four South Africans who did not make it to the bus pick-up point arranged by DIRCO.
DIRCO says while government understands the desperate conditions of nationals stuck in Sudan, evacuations are “never easy” and the important thing is to people out of harm's way.
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