Egypt evacuates 436 nationals from Sudan amid deadly clashes

CAIRO, April 23 (Xinhua) -- The Egyptian authorities evacuated on Sunday 436 Egyptian nationals from Sudan as fierce fighting continues in the neighboring country.

In a statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said that the nationals were evacuated via land in coordination with the Sudanese authorities.

According to the statement, the Egyptian diplomatic missions in Khartoum, Port Sudan, and Wadi Halfa area will continue to coordinate with the Egyptian nationals in Sudan to secure their evacuation.

The number of Egyptian citizens in Sudan exceeds 10,000, which requires a tight, safe and orderly planned process to ensure their safe evacuation from the conflict-ridden country, the foreign ministry announced earlier in the day.

Since the beginning of the conflict, Egypt's flag carrier EgyptAir has suspended its flights to and from Sudan's Khartoum International Airport.

Clashes between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continue in the capital Khartoum and adjoining cities for the ninth day due to disagreement over the RSF's integration into the army.

According to Sudan's health ministry, the deadly clashes have left at least 424 people killed and about 3,730 wounded by Saturday.