The Federal Government plans to start evacuating nearly 3,000 of its nationals, mostly students, from Sudan by convoy to Egypt this week, a top official said on Monday.
As combat between forces loyal to two competing generals rages into a second week, other nations are hurrying to get their citizens out of Sudan.
Special forces and military aircraft from Western countries have been dispatched to assist in evacuating embassy personnel and other citizens. Others have driven out from the capital city of Khartoum.
Onimode Bandele, special duties director for Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency or NEMA, told Channels TV the plan was to move about 2,650 to 2,800, including families of embassy staff.
“Nobody has been evacuated yet,” he said. “There are plans to get buses to start movement tomorrow morning.”
Officials say a total of around 5,000 Nigerian nationals could be looking for evacuation.
Since fighting erupted on Sunday, at least 427 people have been killed and more than 3,700 wounded, according to UN agencies, which also reported Sudanese civilians fleeing areas affected by fighting, including Chad, Egypt, and South Sudan.