China has deployed its navy to rescue its citizens - including Hong Kong residents - from conflict-hit Sudan, says the defense ministry.
Multiple nations have scrambled to evacuate embassy staff and citizens by road, air and sea from Sudan, where fighting between the army and paramilitaries has killed hundreds and led to acute shortages of water, food, medicines and fuel.
Rescue operations intensified in recent days as a 72-hour ceasefire took effect on Tuesday. But some fighting was reported midweek, with witnesses describing "heavy air strikes" east of the capital, Khartoum.
Recently the situation in Sudan has deteriorated, defense ministry spokesman Tan Kefei said.
The navy was deployed yesterday, he added, "in order to protect the lives and property of Chinese people in Sudan."
Head of consular affairs at the foreign ministry Wu Xi, told CCTV that more than 1,100 Chinese nationals - including Hong Kong residents - had been evacuated.
China says it is Sudan's largest trading partner, with more than 130 companies investing there as of mid-2022. It is estimated that about 1,500 of its nationals were in Sudan.
Some 800 Chinese citizens were evacuated from Sudan by sea from Tuesday to yesterday, foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.
More than 300 people have crossed over to countries bordering Sudan by land, she added.
The fighting has killed at least 512 people and wounded more than 4,000, reducing some districts to ruins, according to Sudan's health ministry. UN agencies reported Sudanese civilians fleeing areas affected, including to Chad, Egypt and South Sudan.
With Khartoum's international airport disabled, groups of foreigners have been airlifted out from other airstrips. Other evacuations were taking place from Port Sudan, an 850-kilometer drive from Khartoum.
An Indonesian military plane flew 110 Indonesians from the port to Jeddah, bringing the number of evacuees to 667.
