A woman from Ashland, Mass., and her daughter were able to cross the border out of Sudan as a conflict between military forces in the country continues.
Trillian Clifford and 18-month-old Alma recently travelled out of the country following days of sheltering in place in Clifford’s apartment in the country’s capital, Khartoum, according to her sister-in-law Rebecca Winter.
“We are thrilled to share that today Trillian and her baby, Alma, have safely crossed the border out of Sudan,” Winter said in a statement sent to 7NEWS. “Trillian, Alma, and all of the foreign nationals from her school are traveling together as private citizens.”
Clifford had been working at an international school when a military conflict broke out in the north African country, with at least dozens of people killed and injured as Sudan’s army and a paramilitary group continue to clash with one another.
According to her sister-in-law, the Ashland native had been teaching abroad for nearly a decade and that this was Clifford’s first year in Sudan.
In an earlier interview with CNN, Winter said the mother and daughter had been sheltering in place for nearly ten days and communicating with her via text message.
Winter described the situation as an “awful holding pattern” since both the U.S. embassy and the school initially informed Clifford to take shelter and not accept any offers for private evacuation.
In an update this week, Winter said the preschool teacher and child were able to get out thanks to an evacuation effort organized by Clifford’s school.
Citing security reasons, she could not share further details on the two’s journey, but said that they would be back on American soil in several days.
“While we are relieved that Trillian is finally making progress on her journey back home, we want to acknowledge there are millions of people still suffering through this conflict in Sudan and many foreign nationals still trying to evacuate,” Winter said. “We extend our deepest concern for the innocent citizens of Sudan, including Trillian’s young students.”
The sister-in-law also thanked the offices of Senator Elizabeth Warren and Governor Maura Healey for the help they provided “along with the local embassies.”
Evacuation efforts for thousands of international workers continue, with the Associated Press reporting how countries like Germany, France and Turkey have been able to get hundreds of their citizens out of Sudan.
The AP said some 16,000 U.S. citizens were contacted by Washington, with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan recently stating the government had started facilitating “the overland departure of private U.S. citizens who want to leave Sudan.”
Meanwhile, thousands of Sudanese citizens have been trying to flee the conflict since its start on April 15, including some 20,000 people who have fled to neighboring Chad.
United Nations officials estimate that 16 million people, or nearly a third of Sudan’s population, would need assistance, per another AP report.
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