They will now be transported to a safe zone, the New Straits Times reported him as saying.

“We’re now considering all options, either by air or sea.

“We have been arranging this (transportation) for the last 48 hours, working tirelessly since the first day of Hari Raya Aidilfitri to sort this out,” he was quoted as saying.

Zambry said they would opt for the “next available modes of transport” to transfer the Malaysians to either Jeddah in Saudi Arabia or Cairo in Egypt before they return home.

Zambry also commended the ambassador to Sudan, Razdan Jamil, and his team for their efforts in bringing the Malaysians home.

In an interview with Berita Harian yesterday, Zambry said a rescue mission to extract the 30 Malaysians by land from Khartoum was delayed after the vehicles ferrying them were stranded for more than four hours because of a curfew.

The extraction was further delayed by a burst tyre on one of the vehicles.

Violence broke out in the capital and across Sudan on April 15 between forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy-turned-rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

The clashes have killed more than 400 people, wounded thousands and threatened a descent into wider turmoil in the northeast African country, already one of the world’s poorest.