The Mainichi - Japan Daily News
Friday April 21, 2023
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno holds a press conference at the prime minister's office in Tokyo, on April 20, 2023. (Kyodo)
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The government on Thursday ordered the Air Self-Defense Force to dispatch aircraft to Djibouti in preparation for the evacuation of Japanese nationals from Sudan, where military clashes are intensifying.
The ASDF planes are expected to leave for Djibouti this weekend, from where they will fly to Sudan to evacuate the around 60 Japanese people living in the northeast African country, a government source said.
Japan's Self-Defense Forces set up a base in Djibouti in 2011 as part of an anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia.
It remains unclear when the planes will head to Sudan. The government is still determining what kind of aircraft and how many will be sent, according to a Japanese government official.
Fighting between Sudan's armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has escalated, including at the airport in the country's capital Khartoum, making it difficult for people to evacuate.
The conflict has left more than 270 people dead and over 2,600 others injured, the World Health Organization said.