MANILA — A Filipino was injured by a stray bullet in Sudan, while a Philippine ambassador figured in a car accident on his way to overseeing evacuation efforts in the war-torn country, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday.

The unidentified Filipino was “wounded in the hand by a stray bullet but he has received treatment,” DFA Spokesperson Teresita Daza told reporters.

“No report on Filipinos killed due to the conflict,” she said.

Meanwhile, Philippine Ambassador to Egypt Ezzedin Tago was on his way to the border between Egypt and Sudan when his vehicle was involved in an accident, Daza said.

“Fortunately he was unharmed. He has returned to Cairo and will be flying to the border to facilitate the entry of Filipino evacuees to Egypt,” she said.

In a separate message, DFA Undersecretary Ed de Vega confirmed that Tago was in the car with Vice Consul Bojer Capati during the accident.

“In their rush to get to border by car to help incoming Filipinos cross through, Ambassador Ezzedin Tago and Vice Consul Bojer Capati got to a car accident where their car rolled over two times,” de Vega told ABS-CBN News in a text message.

“They survived and are STILL proceeding somehow to border later today. The vice consul is first clearing with hospital now,” he said.

“This is the DFA’s commitment to our Overseas Filipinos and we hope the public can be advised and reassured that we are doing what we can,” he added.

As of Wednesday morning, the DFA has deployed 7 buses carrying around 300 repatriates from Sudan to Egypt, the Undersecretary said.

“The problem is the long processing at Egyptian border taking over a day,” he said.

“Our Embassy is sending teams to try to fix it,” he added.

Daza said getting buses to transport Filipinos out of Sudan was also a challenge.

“Securing buses to transport Filipinos out of Khartoum has been challenging due to the scarcity of bus providers, increasing rental prices,” she said.

The Philippine government’s “efforts to secure more buses continue,” she added.

So far, 80 Filipinos have left Sudan, while 270 others are requesting for repatriation, data from the DFA showed.

“Majority are professionals, some work in farms/agricultural companies, students,” Daza said.

“Philippine Honorary Consul Tariq has distributed welfare assistance to priority groups including senior citizens and families with small children in Khartoum,” she said.

“The Philippine Embassy in Cairo has made representations with the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to facilitate the temporary entry into Egypt of Filipino nationals and is exploring deployment of teams in two locations in Wadi Halfa and Port Sudan provide consular assistance to evacuating Filipinos,” she added.

• Foreign nations scramble to evacuate citizens as Sudan battles rage

Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople, who is also expected to be in Egypt, earlier said that the Philippine government would provide $200 for each Filipino evacuee from Sudan.

The fighting in Sudan, which has left some neighborhoods of its capital in ruins, broke out on April 15 between forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy turned rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

At least 459 people have been killed and more than 4,000 wounded across Africa's third-biggest country, according to UN agencies.

A US-brokered ceasefire between the two generals entered its second day on Wednesday but remained fragile after witnesses reported fresh air strikes and paramilitaries claimed to have seized a major oil refinery and power plant.

Security fears were compounded when the World Health Organization (WHO) warned Tuesday of a "huge biological risk" after fighters occupied a Khartoum laboratory holding samples of cholera, measles, polio and other infectious diseases.

Sudan, one of the world's poorest nations, has a history of military coups.

The two warring generals seized power in the 2021 coup, but later fell out, most recently over the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army.

• PH gov't has enough funds to repatriate Filipinos in Sudan - Gatchalian

— With a report from Agence France-Presse

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