28 S.Korean nationals from war-torn Sudan on way back home: Defence Ministry

Seoul, April 25 (IANS) A South Korean military plane carrying 28 nationals from war-ravaged Sudan is on its way back home, the Defence Ministry in Seoul said on Tuesday.

Seoul's presidential office initially said 26 evacuees would fly to Korea aboard the KC-330 tanker transport plane, while two opted to stay in Saudi Arabia, reports Yonhap News Agency.

But the two changed their mind and boarded the plane, the Ministry said.

The plane is expected to arrive at Seoul Air Base, just south of Seoul, at around 4 p.m. on Tuesday.

Under the mission, codenamed Operation Promise, the evacuees boarded the KC-330 in Jeddah, western Saudi Arabia, after they flew there from Port Sudan aboard a C-130J transport plane.

They travelled to Port Sudan from the Sudanese capital of Khartoum by land.

Seoul officials had anxiously watched the evacuation process, as Sudan has descended into a bloody battle zone following the eruption of violence between Sudan's military and a rival paramilitary group on April 15.