More than 300 Filipinos were safely evacuated from Sudan in the last 12 hours through government efforts led by the Department of Foreign Affairs even as the number of Filipinos who fled Khartoum reached 496.

Philippine Ambassador to Egypt Ezzedin Tago welcomed 340 Filipinos from Khartoum at the Argeen border Friday morning after they were cleared by Egyptian authorities for entry. There have been delays in the processing at the Egyptian border due to the influx of evacuees.

Eight Filipinos from Khartoum arrived in Greece onboard a Greek military aircraft. Philippine Ambassador Giovanni Palec received the evacuees, who will be repatriated via the next available flight to Manila.

There are 58 Filipinos in Port Sudan, awaiting the ship that will bring them to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where 16 Filipinos have been received by the team led by Consul General Edgar Tomas Auxilian.

DFA teams in Athens, Jeddah, and at the Egypt-Sudan border have been assisting Filipinos from Khartoum and are making arrangements for their repatriation via the next available flights.

Coordination with the governments of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Greece on the safe passage of Filipino evacuees is continuing through the respective Philippine Embassies. DFA