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First Repatriation Flight from France Lands in Tunisia

A general view shows Tunis-Carthage International Airport in Tunis, Tunisia, on July 30, 2018. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
A general view shows Tunis-Carthage International Airport in Tunis, Tunisia, on July 30, 2018. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
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First Repatriation Flight from France Lands in Tunisia

A general view shows Tunis-Carthage International Airport in Tunis, Tunisia, on July 30, 2018. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
A general view shows Tunis-Carthage International Airport in Tunis, Tunisia, on July 30, 2018. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi

Carthage International Airport received Thursday the first flight of Tunisian expatriates returning from Paris as Tunisia lifted this week the majority of restrictions put in place in early March to combat the novel coronavirus.

Passengers were sent to a mandatory one-week quarantine in hotels after the Tunisian authorities had earlier called for self-quarantine measures.

Repatriation flights from Paris, Leon, Marseille, Nice, Munich, Frankfort, Kiev, Bucharest, Brussels, Rome, Naples, Palermo, Verona, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar will continue until June 26.

The country has set a condition for returnees to sign a written paper pledging to abide by a 14-day self-quarantine in addition to other measures such as approving follow-up procedures by health teams and having a negative test result for COVID-19 issued 72 hours before arrival.

Meanwhile, the coronavirus response team and the Tunisian Health Ministry discussed the state’s measures as it opens the border to welcome Tunisians residing abroad or foreigners arriving for medical tourism.

Concerning opening the border, Tunisian Minister of Health Abdellatif Mekki said that Tunisians have a “constitutional right” to return home as he highlighted the significance of respecting health instructions to prevent a second wave of the pandemic.

He asserted the border will open gradually.

Tunisia has recorded 1,128 confirmed coronaviruses cases. A total of 1,004 patients have recovered, reaching a rate of around 89 percent.

The country has recorded 50 deaths.

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Arab World

UN: Situation in West Darfur ‘Catastrophic’

A displaced Sudanese woman sits next to children in a town in northern Darfur (Reuters) 
A displaced Sudanese woman sits next to children in a town in northern Darfur (Reuters) 
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UN: Situation in West Darfur ‘Catastrophic’

A displaced Sudanese woman sits next to children in a town in northern Darfur (Reuters) 
A displaced Sudanese woman sits next to children in a town in northern Darfur (Reuters) 

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Sudan (OCHA) said on Sunday there is a “massive” need for humanitarian assistance in North Darfur, adding that situation in the Zamzam and Abu Shouk displacement camps is catastrophic.

“Civilians are trapped. Aid cannot reach those who need it most,” the office said on its X account, adding that displaced people in the Tawila camp are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

Meanwhile, Salwa Abdullah, a Darfur resident, told Asharq Al-Awsat on Sunday that she buried her five children in the Darfur desert, with no sign to locate their graves if she ever came back to visit them.

“How can I survive without them,” she said.

Salwa dug their graves with the help of her father, during their journey from al-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, to the relatively safe town of Tawila.

Speaking on the phone while crying, she said, “I tried to get them to a safe area, away from shells and bullets. I didn’t imagine they will die of thirst and then buried in a vast desert with no sign to mark their graves, only small sand hills that will disappear from wind and rain.”

Salwa’s oldest child was 13. She said she watched her five children struggle to death one by one, after they spent several days on the road to Tawila, located some 65 kilometers from al-Fasher, the last major city controlled by the Sudanese Army in the Darfur region, which has been besieged by the Rapid Support Forces for the past year.

“In just two days I lost two daughters and three sons, and shortly before, I lost my husband. I still ignore if he is alive or dead. Even if I find him how can I tell him that his five children are dead,” said Salwa, who is in her forties.

“I cried a lot hoping my tears will wake them up from their coma. I can't describe my feelings back then. I wished I was dead instead.”

Salaw, who is pregnant, said the family left al-Fasher on foot carrying water bottles. “But due to high temperatures during the daytime hours, the water ran out on the third day,” she explained.

The grieved mother has now reached the Tawila town to join thousands of other families that were displaced from al-Fasher due to fighting between the Army and the RSF.

“Many families lost their children on their journey to Tawila, currently controlled by the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdul Wahid al Nur,” said Adam Rijal, spokesman for the General Coordination for Displaced Persons and Refugees.

“The displaced are living in dire humanitarian conditions and need basic necessities such as food, drinking water and shelter,” he said.