TNI Commander Admits There Is Potential Threat When Evacuating Indonesian Citizens From War In Sudan

TNI Commander Admiral Yudo Margono. (Between-Aspirilla Dwi A)

JAKARTA - TNI Commander Admiral Yudo Margono acknowledged the potential threat when evacuating Indonesian citizens (WNA) in Sudan considering the armed conflict between the Sudanese military (SAF) and paramilitary groups (RSF) is ongoing.

Therefore, the TNI Commander deployed elite Indonesian Air Force troops, Satbravo 90 of the Indonesian Air Force's Rapid Action Force Command (Kopasgat), to participate in guarding and securing the evacuation process of Indonesian citizens in Sudan.

The air base (the evacuation site for Indonesian citizens in Port Sudan, ed.) is a strategic base, which usually in the war will be one that must be contested so that in the evacuation, it must wait for a safe schedule, as well as schedules from other countries that evacuate," said Yudo during a press conference with Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi at Soekarno Hatta International Airport, Tangerang, Banten, Friday, April 28, which was confiscated by Antara.

The TNI Commander on Monday, April 24, released the departure of the evacuation team consisting of 39 soldiers to evacuate Indonesian citizens in Sudan. The evacuation team, led by the Noto Casnoto Aviation Colonel, is a combination of elite Satbravo 90 TNI Air Force, Air Force Kopasgat crew, pilots, doctors, BAIS TNI, Puspen TNI, and they were accompanied by staff from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The evacuation team on Wednesday, April 26, evacuated 110 Indonesian citizens from Port Sudan to Jeddah. The evacuation team returned to transport 111 Indonesian citizens, who were the last group, from Port Sudan to Jeddah, Friday.

The Indonesian Air Force aircraft that I departed yesterday Boeing 737 had carried out two evacuation terms, 100 people per sort. Stay today (April 28) and hopefully the safe situation is 111, hopefully it can be transported too," said Yudo.

Yudo hopes that the evacuation process will run smoothly until the last stage, and all Indonesian citizens can return to Indonesia safely.

"Hopefully everything goes smoothly, what we prepared yesterday well can return to Indonesia safely," he said.

At the same location, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi conveyed that the evacuation and repatriation of Indonesian citizens from Sudan to Indonesia were carried out in stages and in stages.

Of the 897 Indonesian citizens who were evacuated by the government to Indonesia, 385 Indonesian citizens arrived in Indonesia, Friday morning at 05.46 WIB. The first group to be repatriated consisted of 248 women, 137 men, and 43 children.

The second group will be repatriated from Jeddah to Indonesia on April 29, and is scheduled to arrive in Indonesia on April 30. The last group, which closed the evacuation, will return to Indonesia from Jeddah on April 30.

"As of now, only 111 Indonesian citizens are still in Port Sudan. Today they will be flown to Jeddah by Indonesian Air Force aircraft," said Retno.

On the same occasion, Retno explained that the evacuation of Indonesian citizens from Sudan to Indonesia took place in an relay because they responded to the situation on a liquid and dynamic field.

"The evacuation this time used an relay evacuation pattern, starting with the evacuation of land roads from Khartoum to Port Sudan, and from Port Sudan to Jeddah by sea and air, and being repatriated gradually to Indonesia," said Retno.

The TNI commander on different occasions explained the evacuation via centralized air in Port Sudan, because the travel time was shorter than that of the Sudanese capital in Khartoum. Flights from Port Sudan to Jeddah took 45 minutes, while from Khartoum to Jeddah were 1.5 hours.