In the midst of Sudan's conflict, Port Sudan is quickly becoming a key center. Lyse Doucet, the Chief International Correspondent for the BBC, took part in the most recent evacuation effort to Jeddah.
As HMS Al Diriyah approached Sudan's coast in the dead of night, Saudi officers turned on sweeping searchlights to ensure the warship's safe entry into a harbor that was quickly developing into a major evacuation and humanitarian hub in the country's escalating crisis.
Even at two in the morning, two more massive ships were anchored offshore at Port Sudan, the country's largest port, waiting to participate in this global rescue operation.
Hassan Faraz from Pakistan told us, obviously upset, "I feel so relieved but also so sad to be part of this history."
The HMS Al Diriyah traveled from the Saudi port city of Jeddah for ten hours during the night before arriving at the quayside on a Saudi tugboat. Rare access was granted to a select number of international journalists so they could visit the troubled Sudan.
While waiting in line on the pier for passports to be compared to the Saudi manifest, Faraz thought, "People will be talking about these events for many years to come." This time, a large number of young South Africans experienced bomb explosions and gunfire. Then, too traumatized to continue, he remained silent while gazing into the water.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary organization led by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, and the Sudanese army, under the command of Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, have been engaged in a heated power struggle in recent weeks.
"Port Sudan has fared relatively better in this war," said my British-Sudanese colleague Mohanad Hashim. The first day of fighting barely started here on April 15, but already this port city is overrun by refugees from Khartoum and other areas.Asian laborers claimed to have waited for three days here after two arduous weeks in this hellish battle zone.
Another Pakistani guy who claimed to have worked at a foundry in Sudan talked of having "seen so much,
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