Evacuation of foreigners begins in Sudan

BBC reported that a group of foreign nationals have been evacuated from Sudan, as fighting between rival armies raged on in the capital Khartoum.

More than 150 people were evacuated by sea to the Saudi Arabian port of Jeddah on Saturday – mostly citizens of Gulf countries. Khartoum airport has been repeatedly targeted and Canada’s government says no flights are possible yet.

The Canadian government travel advice describes the security situation as “highly volatile”and advises it’s citizens to keep their phones charged, their doors and windows locked and “consider leaving the country if there’s a safe means to do so”. “With the airports and airspace closed, no air evacuations from Sudan are possible at this time,” it says.

Meanwhile the UK says it is considering ways to evacuate its staff. A hotline has been set up for those who need urgent help, and UK citizens in Sudan are being urged to tell th Foreign Office online or by phone where they are. Any UK evacuation is expected to be very limited and focus on diplomatic staff – not comparable to the mass evacuation from Afghanistan in 2021.

Saturday’s evacuation to Jeddah – the first since violence in Khartoum erupted last week – saw citizens, diplomats and  international officials travel by sea. As well as from Gulf nations, there were also citizens from Egypt, Pakistan and Canada.

Violence broke out in Khartoum on 15 April. At the heart of the fighting is a power struggle between forces loyal to Sudanese army chief Abdel Fatteh al-Burhan and a rival paramilitary faction, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The near constant shooting and bombardment in Khartoum and elsewhere has cut electricity and safe access to food and water for much of the population.

Several ceasefires that had seemingly been agreed by both sides were ignored, including a three-day pause to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which started on Friday.