Photo of Saudi servicewoman cradling baby during Sudan evacuations goes viral

A video and photo showing a Saudi Arabia servicewoman cradling a young baby as they disembark from a ship carrying almost 200 evacuees from Sudan on Monday has gone viral on social media.

The Saudi Arabian Navy ship HMS Yanbu, carrying 199 people, including nationals of more than a dozen countries, were evacuated from Sudan and arrived at the Saudi Arabian port of Jeddah on Monday.

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Among them was a young boy who was caught on camera being carried by a Saudi servicewoman – thought to be a member of the Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense. The woman is shown to cradle the boy – whose nationality is unknown - as he clings to her wearing a white and yellow t-shirt and shorts.

The video has garnered hundreds of thousands of shares and likes on Twitter, with one user commenting: “How did this Saudi soldier embrace this child with tenderness and compassion, as if she was his mother?”

The evacuees from the ship includes Saudi nationals and citizens of the USA, UK, Sweden, Italy, Qatar, Syria, Netherlands, Iraq, Turkey, Tanzania, Lebanon and Libya.

The rescue operation was lauded by international diplomats.

According to SPA, the total number of those evacuated by the kingdom is 356, including 101 Saudi nationals and 255 other nationalities.

Read more:

Hundreds more evacuees rescued from battle-scarred Sudan arrive in Saudi Arabia

Saudi citizens, other nationals evacuated from Sudan arrive in Jeddah