More than 200 Pakistanis and a Brazilian family were among the latest group of foreign nationals to be evacuated by the Chinese military from war-torn Sudan, as deadly fighting between rival generals there entered a third week.
China has tried its best to evacuate the nationals of "friendly countries" alongside its own from Sudan, the Chinese foreign ministry's Asia affairs chief Liu Linsong told the Pakistani ambassador when he arrived to give thanks in Beijing.
The ministry said earlier that the nationals of five countries had left Sudan on Chinese naval ships, but did not name them. It also said more countries were seeking help from China to help evacuate their citizens.
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The People's Liberation Army's Weishanhu supply ship brought 493 people from Port Sudan to the Saudi Arabian port of Jeddah on Saturday morning, the Chinese navy and state broadcaster CCTV reported over the weekend. Among them were 215 Pakistani citizens and a Brazilian family of six, apart from 272 Chinese nationals.
It was the second and final round of large-scale evacuations from Sudan by the PLA naval force, with 940 Chinese in all brought to Jeddah on board the Weishanhu, escorted by the guided-missile destroyer Nanning, between Wednesday and Saturday, the Chinese defence ministry said.
This came as the violence continued in Sudan, with several truces failing to take hold after a months-long power struggle between its armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force boiled over.
What started with deadly clashes in and around the capital Khartoum on April 15 has since spread to the country's west and south. At least 500 people have been killed, with more than 4,500 injured, and tens of thousands fleeing their homes, according to Sudanese health ministry data.
The United Nations said more than 75,000 people had been internally displaced and that basic necessities such as water, food and fuel had become scarce in Khartoum and elsewhere.
The Sudan evacuations represented the third such mission by the Chinese naval forces, after Libya in 2011 and Yemen in 2015, the PLA Navy said. Beijing has held up the evacuation as another demonstration of its resolve and ability to protect nationals abroad.
"With the assistance of China, more than 200 Pakistani expatriates in Sudan were evacuated safely in Chinese vehicles and warships," Pakistani ambassador Moin ul Haque said when he met Liu in Beijing on Sunday, according to a readout from the Chinese foreign ministry.