South Koreans evacuated from war-torn Sundan meet their family members upon arrival at Seoul Air Base, just south of Seoul, on April 25, 2023. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
SEOUL, April 25 (Korea Bizwire) — A South Korean military aircraft carrying 28 nationals from war-ravaged Sudan arrived back home Tuesday, completing a perilous dayslong operation for their evacuation amid intensifying fighting between rival forces in the African nation.
The KC-330 tanker transport plane touched down at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, capping the last phase of Operation Promise, a carefully coordinated mission involving elite forces from the Army, Air Force and Navy and front-line diplomats.
Seoul officials had watched the evacuation process with bated breath, as Sudan has descended into a bloody battle zone following the eruption of violence between Sudan’s military and a rival paramilitary group on April 15.
Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup, Second Vice Foreign Minister Lee Do-hoon and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Jung Sang-hwa greeted the evacuees setting foot on the tarmac. Their families welcomed them with flower bouquets and cakes.
“We were in a very confusing situation with much fear … We are very appreciative of (the military’s) support,” an evacuee told reporters. “I hope that peace will return and the fighting will calm in Sudan.”
A KC-330 tanker transport aircraft carrying South Korean evacuees from war-torn Sudan arrives at Seoul Air Base, just south of Seoul, on April 25, 2023. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
The evacuees boarded the KC-330 at an airport in Jeddah, western Saudi Arabia, after they flew there from Port Sudan aboard a C-130J transport plane on Monday (local time).
They traveled to Port Sudan from the Sudanese capital of Khartoum in a United Arab Emirates (UAE)-led convoy along a relatively safe overland route spanning around 1,161 kilometers, according to Seoul officials.
South Korea chose the UAE-proposed route given the friendly bilateral ties with the Middle Eastern nation, the quality of its information on the region and other factors, though other alternatives were also on the table.
On the trip to Port Sudan that took about 33 hours, the evacuees used six large buses. Also in their midst were Japanese, UAE and Malaysian nationals.
The operation faced difficulties even before the road trip. Determining the evacuation date and bringing all Korean residents — separated from one another — to the embassy in Khartoum was an especially daunting task, diplomats recalled.
“It was the highest-level emergency situation,” a Seoul official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
“Food was running short, with electricity and water supplies cut and the embassy located too close to the airport near the site of the fighting.”
Seoul viewed Sunday as the evacuation deadline, as a window of opportunity could close on that day when the 72-hour religious holiday — marking the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan — ended.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (C) holds a meeting on the evacuation of South Korean nationals from Sudan inside the presidential plane on his way to the United States for a state visit on April 24, 2023. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
The government plans to provide them with medical checkups and other forms of support, officials said. Earlier in the day, it held an interagency meeting on their accommodations and other support measures.
President Yoon Suk Yeol oversaw the evacuation process through a satellite-linked video conferencing with his staff on the ground while on Air Force One en route to Washington for a state visit, according to his aide.
The operation involved elite troops from the 707th Special Missions Group of the Army’s Special Warfare Command, the Air Force’s Combat Control Team as well as the Navy’s anti-piracy Cheonghae unit that was operating off the coast of Somalia.
Front-line diplomats played a key role in coordinating with the United States, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and other countries to elicit their cooperation in ensuring the safety of the citizens and clearing hurdles to the evacuation process.
The military planes’ overflights required coordination with 16 countries — a single-day process, which would have taken about two weeks had it not been for their cooperation — a defense official told reporters, requesting anonymity.
“During Operation Promise, we received active cooperation from friendly nations, such as the U.S., the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and regarding this, we would like to express our deep appreciation,” Deputy National Security Adviser Lim Jong-deuk told reporters on Monday.
The operation harked back to the 2021 mission, called Operation Miracle, to evacuate nearly 400 Afghan colleagues from their war-torn country.
For the Afghan mission, the government also mobilized C-130 and KC-330 military aircraft from Korea.
(Joint Press Corps-Yonhap)
