On Sunday, civilians were rescued from Sudan by French forces. Image source: FRANCE DEFENCE FORCE.
As intense fighting persists in Khartoum, numerous countries have removed their diplomats and citizens from the Sudanese capital.
On Sunday, the US and UK confirmed that they had evacuated their diplomats from Sudan.
Other countries, such as France, Germany, and Italy, are also coordinating evacuation efforts, which began on Sunday.
The conflict between the regular army and a powerful paramilitary force has led to widespread violence in Sudan.
The US government reported that they used three Chinook helicopters to evacuate less than 100 individuals in a quick and efficient operation.
The US embassy in Khartoum has since closed, and a tweet from its official account states that it is not safe for US citizens to be evacuated by the government.
Similarly, the UK government conducted a “complex and rapid” operation to airlift British diplomats and their families out of Sudan.
However, Foreign Minister James Cleverly noted that the options to evacuate remaining British nationals in Sudan were “severely limited.”
In addition to the US and UK, several other countries were also carrying out evacuation efforts on Sunday.
- French President Emmanuel Macron announced that a plane had landed in Djibouti, carrying French citizens and others.
- Some Dutch citizens left Khartoum on the French plane, and the Netherlands planned to evacuate more citizens on Sunday night.
- The German army reported that the first of three planes had departed Sudan with 101 individuals onboard, en route to Jordan.
- Evacuation operations were also underway for Italy and Spain, according to government officials.
- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that his government had evacuated its diplomatic personnel.
On Saturday, other countries also carried out successful evacuation operations. Over 150 individuals, mostly citizens of Gulf countries, Egypt, Pakistan, and Canada, were evacuated by sea to the Saudi Arabian port of Jeddah.
However, there are concerns that the collapse of internet connectivity in Sudan could impede efforts to coordinate aid for those trapped in Khartoum and other cities.
The ongoing power struggle has resulted in heavy bombing in the capital, leading to hundreds of deaths and thousands more injured.
Numerous foreign students from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East who are stranded in Khartoum, a city of around six million people, have issued desperate pleas for help.