Due to the internal conflict in Sudan, President Muhammadu Buhari spent an extra three hours in the air from Saudi Arabia, arriving Abuja at about 5.08 p.m., a statement from his office said.
According to latest BBC reports, thousands of civilians have fled Sudan’s capital and foreign nations are trying to evacuate their citizens, amid a fifth day of fierce fighting.
Witnesses reported people leaving Khartoum in cars and on foot on Wednesday morning, as gunfire and deafening explosions rocked the city.
Nigeria’s Presidential spokesperson, Mr. Garba Shehu, said in the statement: “President Muhammadu Buhari has arrived Abuja after his eight-day official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where he also performed the Umrah (Lesser Hajj).
“The Presidential aircraft landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport at 5:08 pm, after nearly seven hours for a four to five hour Jeddah-Abuja flight due to the ongoing situation in Sudan that warrants the avoidance of the country’s entire airspace by air traffic.
“The rerouted aircraft flew from Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia through Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, DRC, Central African Republic, Cameroon and eventually Nigeria.
“Upon his safe arrival in Abuja, the President was received at the airport by the Chief of Staff, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, Deputy Inspector General of Police Danmallam Mohammed, representing the Inspector General of Police and the Director General, Department of State Services Yusuf Magaji Bichi.”
BBC reports further that officials in Japan and Tanzania say they are considering missions to evacuate their citizens.
The exodus follows Tuesday’s collapsed ceasefire between the warring factions.
The Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had agreed a 24-hour humanitarian ceasefire on Tuesday, but the truce collapsed within minutes of its proposed 16:00 GMT launch.
A new ceasefire was put forward by the RSF for 18:00 local time (16:00 GMT) on Wednesday. The army said it would abide by the truce but there have been reports of gunfire since it was due to come into effect.
Civilians began to flee the capital early on Wednesday morning after fighting resumed and Khartoum was enveloped in thick black smoke following explosions near the army headquarters.
Witnesses in Khartoum reported heavily armed RSF fighters patrolling the city on pick-up trucks, while fighter jets loyal to the military conducted strikes on targets believed to be held by the paramilitary forces.
A shortage of fuel and a lack of public transport has seen many of those fleeing forced to do so on foot, with some seeking to get passage to central and western Sudan – where their families live – on flatbed trucks.
One local fleeing the capital told the BBC that the RSF had set up checkpoints on roads around the city and some of its fighters had robbed him, stealing his phone and some money.
Robberies have also been reported in areas of the capital itself. On Tuesday, residents of the Khartoum 2 area told the BBC that the RSF militia had been going house-to-house in the neighbourhood demanding water and food.
As the fighting intensifies, a number of nations say they have started preparations to evacuate their citizens from the country.
Japan said its Self Defence Forces were considering how to evacuate some 60 Japanese citizens from Sudan, with a military plane placed on standby.
Tanzania’s Foreign Affairs Minister Stergomena Tax told parliament that his government was also evaluating whether it was possible to evacuate 210 of its citizens.
However, the US embassy in Khartoum said “the uncertain security situation” in the capital meant there were no plans for a “US government-coordinated evacuation”.
And the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies told the BBC that it was advising locals calling it for help to stay put and avoid putting themselves in the line of fire.
Whoever calls, we tell them the truth: ‘Look, right now it’s a challenge to get you out, and it’s better and safer to stay where you are,'” Farid Abdulkadir, the organisation’s chief in Sudan, told the BBC’s Focus on Africa radio programme.
The death toll caused by the fighting is unclear, but the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors (CCSD) said on Tuesday that at least 174 civilians had been killed in the violence.
In a joint statement issued on Wednesday, the US, EU, UK and 12 other nations said the death toll had reached 270.
However, experts say the real figure could be far higher, with many wounded unable to reach hospitals which have reportedly been shelled.
The statement – issued through the US embassy in Khartoum – also condemned “attacks directed against civilians, diplomats, and humanitarian actors” and said “Sudan’s military leaders must engage in dialogue without delay”.
“We emphasise that comprehensive and lasting settlement of the differences between the SAF and the RSF is an urgent priority which can be achieved only by peaceful political dialogue,” the statement added.
Tanzeel Khan – an Indian national working in Khartoum – told the BBC that airstrikes in the city were putting civilian lives at risk.
“Since this morning, the airstrikes in this area have intensified and we do not know when they’re going to hit our building,” he said. “There are around 15 other people living in the same building who are facing similar difficulties.”
“Despite the 24-hour truce that started from 6pm yesterday, there’s heavy gunfight going on and it’s impossible to go out and look for supplies,” he added.
A Russian woman trapped in a Greek Orthodox church in Khartoum said that her situation was growing desperate, after her group ran out of power, food and water.
She told the BBC that “urban electricity [was] cut off from the very beginning of the fighting”, but that a generator powering the church had run out of fuel.
The Norwegian Refugee Council – a humanitarian group that helps people displaced by conflict – said “virtually all humanitarian work has been paralysed” in Sudan and that it was impossible to provide assistance on the ground amid such heavy fighting.
“You cannot operate when there is fighting all over the place, when it’s unsafe to drive on the roads, when the airport is closed,” the organisation’s head Jan Egeland told the BBC.
“I’m talking about humanitarian organisations who have seen their warehouses looted, their compounds invaded, their staff held at gunpoint. You know, colleagues have been sexually abused. It’s really, really very bad,” he added.
Elsewhere, the EU said on Wednesday that its ambassador to Sudan had resumed his duties after being assaulted by fighters in the capital on Monday.
A spokesperson for the European Commission said Ambassador O’Hara was attacked after unidentified “armed men wearing military fatigues” stormed his residence in Khartoum.
▪︎ Additional report by BBC.