The Sudanese Army confirms the imminent evacuation of foreigners

2023-04-22 13:10:27

The Sudanese Army has announced that “in the next few hours” the process of evacuating the citizens of several countries and their respective diplomatic missions will begin, after some governments have raised this possibility in recent days in the face of the escalation of tensions in the African country.

A military spokesman explained that the head of the Army, Abdelfatá al Burhan, has received calls from international leaders proposing the evacuation and has announced that work has begun to facilitate the transfers.

This spokesman has specifically cited the cases of the United States, the United Kingdom, China and France, and has confirmed the arrival of military planes to proceed with the evacuations, as reported by the Sudanese Army itself on its Twitter account.

The military spokesman has also notified the departure of diplomatic personnel from Saudi Arabia and the imminent evacuation of that of Jordan. The Saudi Foreign Ministry has confirmed in a statement the start of these works, in which Riyadh has also reached out to citizens of “brother countries” trapped in Sudan.

The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, announced on Friday that he has two military planes ready in Djibouti to proceed with the evacuation of the citizens who are in Sudan once the conditions for it are met. The plan also contemplates the transfer of diplomatic personnel.

fighting continues

The Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), in conflict since last week, have agreed to several truces in recent days, including one for three days announced on Friday to mark the end of Ramadan. However, both parties have accused each other of violating the agreements.

In fact, in the capital, Khartoum, the fighting intensified this Saturday morning, according to the ‘Sudan Tribune’ newspaper. Witnesses continue to denounce constant and indiscriminate artillery firing, in the context of combats that, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), have already caused more than 400 deaths.