2023-04-24 18:11:49
Sign of the slide into chaos, the Chinese authorities have finally decided to shelter their nationals and the diplomats of Khartoum, the Sudanese capital at the heart of a bloody battle between generals in search of power. After nine days of heavy weapons fighting that left hundreds dead, and faced with the lack of a way out of the crisis, Beijing announced without further details the evacuation “of a first group” of Chinese workers to a neighboring country.
China, which occupies a special place in Sudan where it has more than 1,500 nationals, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is one of the nations best informed about the evolution of the local situation. The Asian giant is indeed the first trading partner of this East African country where 130 companies operating in particular in hydrocarbons, mines and public works sites have come to invest. The fall of Omar Al Bashir’s regime in 2019, with which Beijing had excellent relations, did not interrupt the dynamic of Chinese investments, marked on June 11, 2022 by the inauguration of a first maritime line between the two country.
Residents soon to be on their own
Like the Western chancelleries, the Chinese authorities had expressed their concern when fighting broke out in Khartoum on April 15, calling on several occasions for an end to the fighting and to prevent an escalation between the troops of General Abdel Fattah Al Burhane, de facto ruler of Sudan since the putsch of 2021, and the militias of his second and great rival, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. Fighting that plunged the capital into chaos: testimonies evoke morgues that can no longer accommodate new bodies, violence against civilians, while water and electricity are cut and food reserves are exhaust.
In addition to China, several Asian, African and European countries have accelerated the evacuation of their nationals, in particular via the neighboring state, Djibouti. The European Union says it has sheltered a thousand Europeans, organizing several air rotations between Khartoum and Djibouti.
France, whose soldiers evacuated 400 people, also said it had closed its embassy and recalled its ambassador, as had Canada and the United States. Several diplomats have expressed concern for the fate of residents of the capital once the rescue operations for foreigners are over.
#China #turn #evacuates #nationals