Brazilian player in Sudan seeks to leave war-torn country and says Foreign Ministry is being negligent.
Former Flamengo player Paulo Sérgio called for more action from the Brazilian government in a post on his social media.
247 - Paulo Sérgio, a football player from Rio de Janeiro who is in Sudan amidst the civil war, asked the Brazilian government for help this Sunday (23) to leave the country during the ceasefire announced by the paramilitary group that is fighting for power with the Sudanese army. He reported this to the portal G1 Given the lack of response, the group is attempting to leave the country independently, having organized themselves and reached agreements with other embassies.
"We are all organized and have already reached agreements with other embassies. And us? Who are we counting on? They say they are trying to resolve it, but they can't find any more buses or vans to get us out of here," complained Paulo Sérgio, striker for Al-Merreikh who has played for Brazilian clubs, such as Flamengo, and for teams in other countries.
The player demanded more action from the Brazilian government in a post on his social media and accused the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of being negligent and disorganized regarding his case.
"All the foreigners are leaving, and countless Sudanese as well," said the athlete.
Paulo Sérgio said that the plan involves the use of a minibus rented by the club to go to the city of Porto Sudão, on the shores of the Red Sea, still during the ceasefire period. The idea is to sleep in the city and, on Monday (24), cross the border into Egypt.
"We are waiting in this infernal heat for the bus chartered by the club to arrive at the reception of the building where we live. Initially, the bus was supposed to arrive in an hour, and now the wait has increased to two hours. Importantly, it wasn't the government that arranged for the bus to take us to a city far from here, where we will sleep and travel to Egypt tomorrow. This bus was chartered by the club," said Paulo Sérgio.
He and eight other Brazilians who are part of the team are in Khartoum, the country's capital, and are trying to leave the country.
On April 15, violent clashes broke out between the regular Sudanese armed forces and the RSF (Rapid Support Forces), centered in Khartoum. Government forces accused the RSF of mutiny and launched air strikes against their bases. Abdel Fattah Burhan, head of the Sudanese army, issued a decree dissolving the RSF.
The sides agreed to a three-day truce starting Friday because of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr. On Thursday, the Sudanese Ministry of Health said the death toll from the armed clashes had surpassed 600. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization reported on Friday that 413 people had been killed and another 3.551 injured. The Sudanese Doctors' Union said on Saturday that the armed clashes had killed 256 civilians and injured another 1.454.