Unpredictability makes evacuation operation in Sudan precarious; 150 Dutch people reported for evacuation

The unpredictability of the evacuation of Dutch people from Sudan, which began on Sunday, makes the operation "precarious," said Jan Swillens, director of military intelligence MIVD. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a total of more than 150 Dutch people and local embassy employees have said that they want to be evacuated from Sudan.

"You know you can never rule out risks 100 percent, no matter how well you prepare," Swillens said on the Buitenhof television program. "The big concern is getting the Dutch who are there back safely."

When asked if the Dutch have already left Sudan, the director of military intelligence could not comment on that. "I know it's extremely well prepared. The people we are sending are up to the task," Swillens reassured.

According to Swillens, experience shows that in this type of operation you "must above all have confidence in the execution" and the people who carry out the evacuation "must also give them some time to do their job".

The first Dutch people will be evacuated from Sudan on Sunday, the Foreign Ministry announced Sunday morning. A team from Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense is trying to "bring to safety as many Dutch citizens as possible as safely and quickly as possible" This is being done as part of a coordinated, international evacuation operation.

A total of more than 150 Dutch people and local embassy employees have said that they want to be evacuated from Sudan. Minister Wopke Hoekstra (Foreign Affairs) emphasized in a letter to the Tweede Kamer on Sunday that participation in evacuation is certainly not without risks.

The ministry previously announced that it had contact with 152 Dutch people in Sudan but assumed that there are even more Dutch people in the country. Participation in evacuation is voluntary, Hoekstra wrote.

The ministry also assists family members of people being evacuated, Hoekstra reported, even if they have a different nationality. Furthermore, people with a residence permit for the Netherlands may also be eligible. Due to the complicated situation in Sudan, EU member states evacuate each other's citizens "where possible".