UAE sends further food and medical supplies to Sudan

The UAE on Monday sent three aid planes carrying 115 tonnes of vital medical and food supplies to Sudan and neighbouring Chad.

Two of the planes landed at Port Sudan Airport, loaded with urgent medical goods to be used in the treatment of injuries and to conduct emergency surgery in Sudan, such as antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, wound dressings, surgical tape and endoscopy kits.

The third plane arrived in Chad, packed with 15 tonnes of food to support Sudanese refugees affected by the unfolding crisis that has displaced thousands of families and triggered a dire shortage of basic food supplies.

Sultan Al Shamsi, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation for International Development Affairs, said the aid campaign was on the directive of the UAE's leadership.

He said fighting in Sudan had severely disrupted vital services and exacerbated the challenges facing its population.

The UAE has delivered more than 240 tonnes of medical and food supplies to Sudan since the clashes between warring military factions begun.

Sudan crisis - in pictures

The country has also enabled the evacuation of 744 foreign citizens and diplomats and their families, and flown dozens more people in urgent need of assistance.

A plane carrying 178 people from seven countries landed in the UAE from Sudan on Sunday.

Among those on the flight was a Sudanese child wounded by a stray bullet in the continuing clashes.

The boy was admitted to Sheikh Khalifa Medical City hospital in Abu Dhabi.

The latest humanitarian mission came one day after 176 evacuees arrived in the country from the North African nation.

The UAE continues to prioritise the evacuation of the most vulnerable groups, including the sick, children, the elderly and women, the government said.

The evacuees will be hosted in the UAE and provided with all necessary support before their safe transfer to their home countries.

The UAE has welcomed hundreds of citizens from more than 20 countries in a series of flights since April 29.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation confirmed the success of the continuing evacuation operation.

Senior UN aid envoy Martin Griffiths arrived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday to discuss the worsening crisis, which experts fear could leave 2.5 million people without enough food and trigger a wave of mass migration involving about a million people.

Saudi Arabia has been working with the US and allies to secure a ceasefire since fighting began in Sudan on April 15.