2023-04-25 03:08:19
Already more than 420 dead and 3,700 injured in Sudan, in the fighting between the army of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane, de facto leader of Sudan, and his deputy who has become a rival, General Mohamed Hamdane Daglo, who commands the very feared paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
A situation that has put the entire international community on alert and prompted most foreign capitals to organize the evacuation of foreign nationals. They managed to negotiate passages to the airport with both sides.
In the middle of the day, the Quai d’Orsay announced the closure of the French embassy in Sudan “until further notice”, reports AFP. “It is no longer a meeting point for people wishing to leave Khartoum. A 72-hour ceasefire was finally accepted by both sides, US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken announced on Monday evening. The point on what we know.
Three French flights have already landed in Djibouti
France began on Sunday an operation to evacuate French citizens on the spot but also other foreign nationals, in coordination with the countries which were applicants. A total of 491 people, including 196 French nationals, were evacuated on French flights to Djibouti.
“The Ministries for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Armed Forces are continuing their efforts to ensure the safety of our compatriots”, underlines the Quai d’Orsay in a press release published on Monday.
According to the Quai d’Orsay, France has allowed the evacuation of European citizens from Germany, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands , Romania and Sweden. Stockholm also thanked France for the help provided.
Nationals of South Africa, Niger, Ethiopia, Morocco, Burundi, Uganda, Lesotho, Namibia, Rwanda, United States, Canada, India, Philippines and from Japan were also supported by the French authorities.
An operation of “extreme complexity”
The operation, named “Sagittaire”, is “extremely complex” and “may lead to difficulties all the way” in a country at war where, moreover, the “networks are no longer functional”, while precise geolocation of nationals is necessary, according to the French authorities.
Some 150 soldiers are mobilized, “elements of protection, others of reconnaissance, logistical support and medical personnel”, in a “volatile situation”, where the two sides “continue to wage war, even during the truces” , according to the French general staff.
A thousand European nationals evacuated
More than 1,000 European Union nationals have been evacuated from Sudan since the start of operations, European Foreign Minister Josep Borrell said on Monday. “It’s a complex operation but it has been crowned with success,” he said on the sidelines of a meeting of European foreign ministers in Luxembourg. According to a European official, around 1,500 European citizens are present in Khartoum.
Josep Borrell said 21 diplomats from the EU mission in Khartoum had been evacuated. “I especially want to thank France,” he said. “And I want to thank the combined efforts of many countries that evacuated their nationals but also those of other countries.”
A Spanish military plane with “a hundred passengers” including thirty Spaniards, is on its way to the peninsula after a stopover in Djibouti, thanks to an operation carried out by 200 army soldiers, according to Madrid.
Italian authorities said on Sunday they had evacuated all Italians who “had asked to leave” and “foreign citizens”, or “about 200 people”. Germany has finally repatriated since Sunday more than 300 people by three planes, the last having landed in the night of Sunday to Monday in Jordan, said a spokesman for the Command of the operations of the German army.
Worldwide evacuation guidelines
Saudi Arabia was the first to order the departure of its nationals. It evacuated 91 Saudis on Saturday as well as around 60 nationals from twelve other countries, followed by Jordan which evacuated 300 of its citizens the same day. Sixty Lebanese have left Khartoum by road and are “safe”, according to the authorities.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced the evacuation of UK diplomatic staff and their families. “British Armed Forces carried out a complex and rapid evacuation amid escalating violence and threats against embassy staff,” the Downing Street tenant tweeted.
US President Joe Biden announced late Saturday night that the military had “conducted an operation to extract US government personnel from Khartoum”. Some 100 American special operations soldiers took part in the evacuation of “a little less than a hundred” people, including several foreign diplomats.
Other countries are preparing to evacuate their nationals, including South Korea and Japan, by deploying forces in neighboring countries. In Indonesia, the government is “taking all necessary measures to evacuate Indonesian citizens from Sudan”, the foreign ministry said on Sunday.
India said it was working “closely with various partners to ensure the safe movement of Indians stranded in Sudan who would like to be evacuated”. The Sudanese military also said it was coordinating efforts to evacuate Chinese diplomats.
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