The 102-meter-long Saudi warship "His Majesty the King of Diriyah" is usually used to accompany oil tankers across the Red Sea and in exercises with Western naval forces, but last week it carried out a different operation, evacuating civilians from the fighting in Sudan.

That mission was part of a broader evacuation effort that has given Saudi Arabia a central role in the current crisis in Sudan, highlighting the Gulf kingdom's regional influence in the eyes of the world.

As of Monday noon, Saudi Arabia had received more than 5,400 civilian evacuees, the vast majority of them foreigners from 102 countries on six continents.

"I was deeply impressed by the efficiency of their work to help evacuate people, to put their navy at the disposal of people fleeing," said Cameron Hudson of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"This is an opportunity to polish their (the Saudis') image a few kilometers away from Yemen, where some of their worst behavior has emerged," he added, referring to the war in which thousands of civilians have been killed and injured in air strikes launched by a Saudi-led military coalition since 2015.

However, some analysts warn that the evacuations may overshadow the complex role played by Saudi Arabia and other outside powers in the unrest in Sudan, particularly their support for the two generals at the heart of it.

Kholoud Khair, founder of the Khartoum-based think tank Conflict Advisory, said the fighting, which has killed hundreds and wounded thousands so far, resulted in part from "dealing kindly" with army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the leader of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, when he was on the world. To insist on real reform.

"This is a temporary reprieve for the international community to focus on the evacuations as the main story, not how we got here," Khair added, continuing, "as if the evacuation efforts were the only story."

This is certainly the impression being perpetuated by the Saudi media these days.

State-run television stations film arrivals disembarking from ships in the port city of Jeddah, often with the Saudi flag in hand, and interview diplomats praising the swift mobilization of the Saudi navy.

Saudi analyst Aziz Al-Ghashian said Riyadh seems intent on getting the kind of goodwill effort that Qatar gained two years ago when it welcomed tens of thousands of civilians fleeing the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Al-Ghashyan added that the Kingdom "expresses its influence over the Saudi masses," with the aim of confronting "local frustration with the lack of effective media efforts covering Saudi achievements and its role as an international player."

However, this media campaign did not completely win everyone over to Saudi Arabia.

Last week, Khair found herself in Port Sudan with thousands of others in desperate need of an escape route.

She described a chaotic process where traumatized survivors wait for hours, sometimes days, to see if they will be approved for the Red Sea crossing, a journey that can take up to 20 hours, depending on the ship.

"It was a no-frills evacuation experience, I think it was expected but I think it didn't fit with the way the Saudis have promoted the evacuation as if it was a humanitarian mission," Khair said, before eventually getting a place on a British Airways flight instead.

However, she credited the Saudis for being "the only ones on earth who take any kind of responsibility by providing this safe way out, even if marred by politics."

Defense Ministry spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki said Saudi forces would continue to carry out evacuations "as long as the Saudi embassy receives requests from other embassies."

Meanwhile, Saudi officials are promoting the kingdom as a mediator, leveraging its ties to both generals stemming in part from their involvement in the Yemen war.

On Sunday, an envoy from Al-Burhan met with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan. Saudi officials requested an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Wednesday.

This is in line with the recent regional peacemaking campaign that has seen Saudi Arabia make a surprising move to restore relations with Iran and Syria.

It is likely that the politics behind Riyadh's involvement will not mean much to its beneficiaries, including the 52 evacuees on board the HMS Diriyah on Sunday.

After dates and Arabic coffee, the men, women and children spread themselves out on the carpeted carpets trying to sleep, while battling seasickness as the warship steamed some 300 kilometers to Jeddah.

Near the port, a Saudi captain addressed the group, apologizing that he could not have made the trip more comfortable by providing beds for everyone. His last words caused them to applaud.

"Once you arrive in Jeddah, there will be hotels, God willing," he told them. "You will forget everything about this trip."