Vodafone Egypt and Telecom Egypt (WE) have started offering free phone calls and SMS to Sudan for three days and one week respectively amid the deadly clashes that have wracked the neighbouring country since mid-April.
WE said in a Facebook statement that it would allow free landline calls to Sudan for a week starting Friday so that people can check on their families and beloved ones.
Meanwhile, Vodafone Egypt started offering free calls and SMS to and from Sudan for three days starting Thursday, said the company.
This comes as Egypt has stepped up its evacuation of thousands of its citizens from Sudan amid the ongoing clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that have killed more than 400 people and injured thousands others.
Over the past week, Egypt has evacuated more than 5,300 of its own citizens from Sudan out of 10,000 citizens, half of which are students, according to the Egyptian government’s figures.
Egypt has also taken in over 16,000 foreign nationals, including 14,000 Sudanese citizens and 2,000 nationals from 50 states and six international organisations, as of Thursday, the foreign ministry said.
Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called on its citizens in Sudan to head to the Egyptian Consulate General in Port Sudan, or the Arqeen or Qustul border crossings.