The Federal government of Nigeria is currently hindered from evacuating thousands of its citizens stuck in troubled Sudan due to the dangers posed to air travel in the North African country, an official has said. The West African country has, however, put in place ‘necessary arrangements’ to ensure the evacuation is done as soon as possible, the official said.

The Chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, in a tweet on Friday said “while @nemanigeria and the Nigerian Mission in Sudan have put in place necessary arrangements, any flight now is gravely risky. Airlines on ground at the airport were all burnt today, there is a curfew in place and no flights can operate.”

She added that humanitarian groups are making efforts to distribute food, water and medicals, while all efforts are being put in place to get the warring parties to ceasefire.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with our citizens there, and the whole country,” Mrs Dabiri-Erewa said.

One week after fighting erupted between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), over 300 people have died and at least 3,200 people injured.

There have been at least four failed attempts to reach a ceasefire agreement between the warring parties and open a humanitarian corridor.

Both the army and RSF on Friday agreed to a ceasefire for the three-day Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr. However, explosions and gunfire rang out across Khartoum on Saturday.

Most countries including Nigeria have announced plans to evacuate their nationals from the troubled country.

Reports have revealed how some Nigerian students studying in Sudan appealed to the Nigerian government for help.

The Sudanese army on Saturday, according to Aljazeera, said it would facilitate the evacuation of American, British, Chinese and French citizens and diplomats from Sudan, while Saudi Arabia and Jordan were already evacuating via Port Sudan on the Red Sea.