Dačić on the evacuation from Sudan, kidnapped girl returned to her mother
“Yesterday, it was very turbulent because of two very important events: namely, the evacuation of our citizens from Sudan was completed. Only one of our citizens still remains - Filip Lujić, who worked in a humanitarian organisation in the west of the country”, said Minister Dačić, and added that Lujić, due to the coordination of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with Turkish colleagues and assistance from our Embassy in Türkiye, had joined the Turkish evacuation convoy. Minister Dačić explained that all our citizens who had asked for help had been evacuated from Sudan, and that we would continue to provide help if any of our other citizens who had remained in Sudan were to express a wish to leave the country. He thanked all the countries which had offered us assistance in the evacuation. “Many countries have helped. Everyone has expressed their readiness – we have approached the European Union, France, Germany, Türkiye, the Emirates, all those who have managed in some way to pull out their citizens, I really want to thank them all.”
Minister Dačić then spoke about the phenomenon which has been more and more frequent over the recent years: that children become victims of marital problems of their parents who come from different countries. The four-year old girl, who had been kidnapped by her Saudi father, was returned to her mother in Serbia last night. Minister Dačić explained that the mother had previously, in accordance with the court decision, taken the child to see her father in Belgrade, where the girl was kidnapped on 6 June. All traces of her and her father vanished, until yesterday, when the father resurfaced in the Embassy of Saudi Arabia.
“In all honesty, we wouldn’t have been able to do anything about it, if the Ambassador of Saudi Arabia had not rebelled and refused to give a travel authorization to the father, because he believed it to be illegal. Then he called us and asked to hand over the child only to her mother”, explained Minister Dačić.
He added that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had subsequently, by his order and under the supervision of Assistant Minister for Consular Affairs Mirjana Živković, organised transport for the mother to Sarajevo, so she could reunite with the girl. Minister Dačić highlighted that it was the little girl who had been returned from Saudi Arabia two years before by her mother.
“I plead to everyone to inform us at once, as soon as such a problem happens”, said Minister Dačić. “This is not the first, or the only time, and unfortunately, I’m sure it will not be the last such a case, either. We are always here to help as much as possible”, said Minister Dačić, thanking the Saudi Ambassador in Bosnia and Herzegovina once more. “We have once more shown our responsible attitude to our citizens. Maybe people don’t understand that and don't appreciate it a lot. We are not a big country, but we practically have an organised crisis unit which must resolve such situations at a moment's notice”, concluded Minister Dačić.