Dutch man with gunshot wound evacuated from Sudan

A Dutchman with a gunshot wound was among the 104 people on an evacuation flight from Sudan that landed at the air force base in Eindhoven on Tuesday evening, a spokesperson for Foreign Affairs confirmed. The man was taken to a hospital upon arrival in the Netherlands.

The spokesperson could give no further details about his condition. Minister Wopke Hoekstra of Foreign Affairs, who was at the air force base to receive the evacuees, said he believed the man had been shot in one of his limbs. “This shows how dangerous the city is where the people come from,” said Hoekstra.

He told the journalists present that the evacuees' condition varies. “There are people who have been in real agony.” The evacuees are showing tremendous resilience, he said. Their plane took off from Jordan earlier on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Defense previously reported that a Dutch person was injured among the passengers. “He was treated in Jordan and accompanied by a medical specialist during the flight.” There were 104 people aboard, including 40 Dutch people. On Tuesday evening, two buses with 43 Dutch people also arrived at the airbase from Berlin. “These people were evacuated from Sudan by military air transports from the Germans,” Defense said.

The fifth Ministry of Defense evacuation plane landed in Jordan on Tuesday evening. A sixth flight is on its way from Sudan to the country. The Minister found it difficult to estimate when the last transport would leave. “We want to continue as long as possible to safely get the people who want out.”
The Minister said on Tuesday that over 100 Dutch people had been evacuated from the country and that the number would “hopefully” increase during the night and on Wednesday. About 10 to 20 Dutch people have said they want to stay in the country.

Heavy fighting broke out in the East African country earlier this month. In Khartoum and in several places beyond it, the Sudanese government and militias are fighting against each other. According to the United Nations, at least 400 people have been killed in the conflict. The Refugee Foundation has made 250,000 euros available for Sudanese asylum seekers who have fled to neighboring countries Egypt and Chad. The money will provide water and sanitation, among other things.