China has already evacuated 1,300 of its citizens from Sudan, mostly with the help of warships that have also rescued citizens of five other countries, China’s foreign ministry said today.

Sudan has been in chaos since mid-April due to a power struggle between the regular army and paramilitaries. To date, hundreds of people have been killed and there is a severe shortage of water, food, medicine and fuel.

Many countries are trying to take their citizens out by sea, air or land. Their efforts intensified this week when a 72-hour ceasefire went into effect on Tuesday.

“To date, more than 1,300 Chinese citizens have been safely released,” Mao Ning, a Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman, said today, many of them on ships sent by China’s navy.

Earlier this week, Beijing announced that 1,500 Chinese lived in the country prior to the outbreak of hostilities.

“We helped citizens of five countries leave Sudan on Chinese ships,” Mao Ning said, without specifying which countries. “Other countries have also asked us for help in de-escalation operations,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said.

Source: APE-MPE, AFP.