KHARTOUM: Foreign nations rushed to evacuate their citizens from war-stricken Sudan over the weekend as fierce fighting continues to rage in the capital Khartoum where millions of citizens have been trapped inside their homes, many running low on water and food.
The eruption of fighting on April 15 between the army and paramilitary faction Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has triggered a humanitarian crisis, killed more than 400 people and left behind charred tanks, gutted buildings and shops that have been looted and torched.
As people tried to flee the chaos over the weekend, foreign governments began landing aircraft and organising convoys in Khartoum to get out their nationals.
The United States said its special forces, using MH-47 Chinook helicopters, swept into Sudan’s battle-ridden capital from a US base in Djibouti and spent an hour on the ground to rescue fewer than 100 people.
The United States said its armed forces helped embassy staff get out of Sudan, while some countries faced problems evacuating as military factions fought in Khartoum https://t.co/I0wHwKzYd0 pic.twitter.com/PYPQR5UNk5
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 23, 2023
United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted on Sunday that his country’s armed forces had completed a “complex and rapid evacuation of British diplomats and their families from Sudan”.
UK armed forces have completed a complex and rapid evacuation of British diplomats and their families from Sudan, amid a significant escalation in violence and threats to embassy staff.
I pay tribute to the commitment of our diplomats and bravery of the military personnel who…
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) April 23, 2023
Germany and France announced Sunday that they had started evacuating their citizens and those of other countries. Other European countries, including Italy, the Netherlands and Greece, also said rescue efforts were being planned.
Reportedly, long convoys of UN vehicles and buses left Khartoum heading east to Port Sudan on the Red Sea, 850km (530 miles) away by road, carrying nationals from all over the world.
Turkey began rescue operations early Sunday via road from the southern city of Wad Madani, but the effort was postponed from one site in Khartoum after explosions near a mosque designated as the assembly area, the embassy said on Twitter.
Italian Defence Ministry said one of its air force C-130 aircraft carrying evacuees from Khartoum landed Sunday night at an air base in Djibouti, the country’s Defence Ministry said.
Spanish military aircraft flew about 100 people out of Khartoum — more than 30 Spaniards and the rest from Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Poland, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela and Argentina, the foreign ministry said.
Jordanian officials said four planes landed at Amman military airport carrying 343 Jordanian evacuees from Port Sudan.
Egypt, which said it had more than 10,000 citizens in Sudan, urged those in cities other than Khartoum to reach consular offices in Port Sudan and Wadi Halfa in the north for evacuation.
On Saturday, Saudi Arabia said it evacuated more than 150 people, including its own citizens and those of other countries, including Egypt, Pakistan and Canada. Saudi state TV showed a large convoy of vehicles from Khartoum to Port Sudan, from where a navy ship transported the evacuees to the Saudi port of Jeddah.
جانب من عملية الإجلاء التي نفذتها #القوات_البحرية لمواطنين سعوديين وعدد من رعايا الدول الشقيقة والصديقة من السودان إلى المملكة. pic.twitter.com/jpI10oj3cI
— وزارة الدفاع (@modgovksa) April 22, 2023
There have been desperate calls for help from many foreign students stuck in Khartoum who belong to Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Meanwhile, there are reports of a total internet outage in Sudan, which could seriously hinder rescue coordination for those trapped in Khartoum and other cities.
The power struggle – between two former allies – Sudanese army chief Abdel Fatteh al-Burhan and RSF’s General Mohamed Hamdan Dagaloby – has seen heavy bombardment in the capital, with hundreds killed and thousands injured.
