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Over 650 Bangladeshis who were taken to the Port of Sudan could not get themselves on board any Jeddah-bound ship until Thursday afternoon.
"We were told that we would be taken to Jeddah today by ship, but till now we have been stranded at the Port of Sudan. Earlier, they told us that all of us would be taken by today. But now the officials of the local mission have informed us that 100 to 120 persons will be shifted in the first phase, and this causes an anarchic situation here as all intend to go in the first phase," Abu Bahar, one of the Bangladeshis evacuated from Khartoum, told the FE on Thursday afternoon over the telephone.
"But we are still hopeful," he added.
Earlier on Wednesday, foreign ministry officials said that all the Bangladeshis evacuated from Sudan would be shifted to Jeddah by ship. For that, they first have to cross the Red Sea by ship to reach Jeddah. Then they will be brought back home.
They also mentioned that the Bangladeshis evacuated from Sudan could not be flown back to Bangladesh from Jedda because there was no flight on Thursday.
So plans are underway to bring them back to Dhaka on flights that will depart from Jeddah on Friday night, the officials said, adding that the first batch of evacuated Bangladeshis may reach home on Saturday.
Heavy infighting in Sudan, especially in the capital Khartoum, forced the foreign nationals to leave Sudan.
Since May 15, a violent war triggered by a power struggle between the two security forces of Sudan has resulted in the deaths of over 500 people.