Operation Carnelian – military-assisted evacuation from Sudan

In followup to our story of of 3 May, the ADF has now released more details of the evacuation mission from Port Sudan – not South Sudan as we erroneously reported initially.

CAPTION: Evacuees from Port Sudan on board buses in Cyprus after disembarking the Royal Australian Air Force C-130J Hercules that brought them from Sudan. Photo by Sergeant Jarrod McAneney.

A Defence report said the ADF had assisted with evacuating 67 Australian and foreign nationals from war-torn Sudan under Operation Carnelian, in which the ADF deployed two Royal Australian Air Force C-130J Hercules from RAAF Base Richmond with a small contingent of flight, security and maintenance personnel on board.

“The aircraft conducted operational planning tasks in Cypress before deploying to Port Sudan.

“The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) led a whole-of-government response to the conflict in Sudan that required meticulous planning.”

Squadron Leader Jamie Minor said the ADF contingent deployed on short notice to establish a staging area in Cyprus, where they met with government officials and assisted with planning the operation.

“Key considerations included the movements of displaced Australians and foreign nationals out of a conflict area while providing them safety and support,” Squadron Leader Minor said.

“The ADF was able to provide rapid planning, deployment and execution in support of DFAT.”

The Defence report said that when the C-130J Hercules arrived in Port Sudan on 2 May, a team of DFAT and ADF personnel promptly processed and evacuated the 67 people.

Assistant Secretary DFAT Jenny Da Rin said the mission was a success thanks to strong cooperation between Australia and partners.

Among the group evacuated in the RAAF aircraft were 36 Australians plus citizens of the UK, US, Canada, New Zealand, Sweden and Ireland.

 

 

 

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