Locked in the metropolis and hidden in their hermetic homes, about 150 Greek emigrants in Sudanwhere civil war broke out last Saturday. “We are in the midst of fierce fighting, given that we are located in the heart of the capital,” – says the Reverend Metropolitan of Nubia, Mr. Savvas “K”., from the building of the cathedral. The temple building was supposed to become a refuge for 15 believers who, together with the metropolitan, remained in the area until late in the evening for security reasons. “We did not expect such a violent outbreak,” the Nubian metropolitan, who has been serving in Khartoum for the eighth year, answers a reasonable question. “Fortunately, we had plenty of supplies because the Passover meal was approaching,” he explains. However, after the end of the fifth day of the “siege” supplies are saved.

It is recalled that elections in Sudan were called for politicians to (finally) take over the reins of the country, but permanent extensions were given and power remained in the hands of the military.

The clashes, which are the culmination of tensions between the army and paramilitaries, began during the matins of Holy Saturday, the “first” i.e. Resurrection, which, unfortunately, coincided with new bloodshed in the long-suffering country. Two emigrants, indeed, hastened to inform the metropolitan and the flock about the rapid development of events, but, returning home, they came under fire. They have since been admitted to a hospital in Khartoum and are on a waiting list for surgery due to a lack of medical supplies (including closed stores) and a lack of doctors. “There is no one on the streets, not even ambulances,” expatriates report.

“Our church is adjacent to some houses of emigrants and teachers of the Greek school,” the metropolitan describes, “the rest of the emigrants live scattered in Khartoum and the surrounding area.” The idea of ​​leaving fifteen believers from the church was discussed yesterday by all interested parties, and many considered this idea to be extremely bold.

“Electricity has been cut off in most areas of Khartoum since Saturday, which is also causing serious problems with water supply, as households are supplied with pumped water,” the report said. describes in “K” Mr. Gerasimos Pagulatos, Honorary Consul in Khartoum, who, however, has been in Greece since the beginning of April. It is also difficult to contact relatives in Khartoum, although telecommunications and the Internet are not officially cut off, as happened in similar cases in the past.

“My brother was ‘fortified’ in our family hotel, it’s dangerous to even run outside,” says Mr. Pagoulatos, whose family has run the Acropolis Hotel in Khartoum since 1952. “We know they burned the cars at the entrance.” For the past two days, “in the suburbs of Khartoum, armed men have entered houses and devastated them.”

President of the Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou contacted the Metropolitan of Nubia and expressed her interest and concern for the safety of the Greeks.​​​​​​​

Contact Dendia for Expats

The presence of a small but very active Greek diaspora in Khartoum, not unreasonably aroused the interest of Athens. For around 150 Khartoum expatriates, the competent Deputy Foreign Minister Andreas Katsaniotis was involved from the outset, and yesterday the Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias he called his Egyptian colleague Sameh Shukri to get a clearer picture of everything going on in Khartoum and the rest of Sudan. The two ministers also discussed the possibility of cooperation between Greece and Egypt in a possible operation to evacuate citizens from Sudan. Earlier, Mr. Dendias had a conversation with the Greek Ambassador to Egypt, Nikos Papageorgiou, who is also in charge of Sudan, and asked for a permanent connection with the Greeks of Khartoum. Late last night, Mr. Katsaniotis said that 74 people had already applied to the consular authorities with a request for their expulsion from Sudan. At the moment, it seems that a search is underway for the safest way to release foreign nationals, which France will promptly coordinate.