TOKYO: Japanese Self-Defense Forces aircraft and personnel left Djibouti for Sudan Monday to evacuate Japanese nationals there, Defense Ministry officials said.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, speaking at a press conference in Tokyo, declined to reveal the aircraft’s specific destination from the standpoint of ensuring the safety of Japanese nationals in Sudan.

There are about 60 Japanese nationals in Sudan, where the country’s army and Rapid Support Forces paramilitary are engaged in fighting.

The French Foreign Ministry said two Japanese nationals were among the 388 people who were transported out of Sudan to Djibouti aboard French military aircraft Sunday through Monday.

Japan had sent Air SDF aircraft, including a C-130 transport plane and a C-2 transport plane, to Djibouti, which hosts an SDF base for antipiracy operations, to prepare for the evacuation.

The operation will be the sixth mission to evacuate Japanese nationals abroad with SDF planes, most recently in Afghanistan in 2021.

Matsuno said, “A safe evacuation of people wishing to leave Sudan has become the most pressing challenge for the international community.” There have been no reports of injury to Japanese nationals in Sudan, he said.

Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio told a meeting of ruling party executives that his government has sent State Foreign Minister Shunsuke Takei to Djibouti for coordination with countries concerned.

“The (Japanese) government will continue to do its best to ensure the safety of Japanese nationals and evacuate them,” Kishida said.

JIJI Press