Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Monday 4/24/2023
Battles raging in Sudan between the army and paramilitaries have sparked multiple evacuation operations to rescue foreign citizens and diplomats by road, air and sea.
The main airport in the capital Khartoum has been the site of heavy clashes, effectively shutting its operations. Fighting elsewhere has forced delays to some planned rescue operations.
Many countries unable to send forces into Sudan relied on others to extract their citizens via ports and military bases, with Saudi Arabia and France both evacuating numerous foreigners.
Some evacuations are taking place from Port Sudan on the Red Sea, an 850-kilometre (530-mile) drive from Khartoum, and others via nearby Djibouti and neighbouring Egypt.
Here is an overview of what various nations have done in efforts to take stranded citizens to safety.
– Arab and North African nations –
Saudi Arabia led the first reported successful evacuations on Saturday, with naval operations picking up more than 150 people, including 66 nationals from 12 other countries.
Egypt’s military last week evacuated 177 of its soldiers from Sudan. On Sunday the foreign ministry said 436 citizens had left by land. More than 10,000 Egyptians are thought to live in Sudan.
Both Tunisia and Algeria have announced rescue operations starting Monday.
Jordan — whose military airports have been used for some rescue flights — said Saturday it had begun the evacuation of around 300 citizens with Saudi and UAE cooperation, while 52 Lebanese and 105 Libyans had also left on a Saudi naval vessel.
– US and Canada –
On Sunday, the US military sent three Chinook helicopters to evacuate American embassy staff from Khartoum, staying on the ground for less than an hour and extracting just under 100 people.
US officials have warned any wider effort to evacuate American citizens is unlikely in the coming days.
Authorities are monitoring with “unmanned aerial assets” a UN convoy bound for Port Sudan that includes “several dozen Americans”, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told CNN on Monday.
Canada has pulled its embassy team out, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.
– Britain, Norway, Switzerland –
The British military has evacuated UK embassy staff. British citizens still trapped in Sudan have been calling for help.
The Norwegian ambassador said he and other Norwegian diplomats had also been evacuated, while Switzerland said 12 citizens had left with the help of other countries.
– European Union nations –
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Monday that 1,000 EU citizens had been evacuated.
France has airlifted 400 people of multiple nationalities to Djibouti.
The Netherlands’ Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said a “handful” of Dutch people had been evacuated on a French aircraft, with another group leaving Khartoum by road in the UN convoy.
Italy evacuated around 200 people in a military operation on Sunday, rescuing all Italian citizens who “had asked to leave” and others including representatives of the Vatican.
Berlin said it had airlifted 300 people including other nationalities following an aborted attempt on Wednesday.
A Spanish military plane with 100 passengers, 30 of them Spanish, left Sunday for Djibouti, Madrid said.
Finland said Monday it had evacuated 10 people, and “efforts are ongoing to get” others out of Sudan.
– Turkey –
Ankara began operations on Sunday, taking some of its estimated 600 nationals by road from Khartoum and the city of Wad Madani.
But plans were postponed from one site in Khartoum after “explosions” near a mosque designated as the assembly area, the embassy said.
– African nations –
Chad said it was sending planes to collect 438 citizens who are leaving Khartoum by bus for Port Sudan.
Mauritania’s top diplomat Mohamed Salem Ould Marzouk said on Twitter that 101 citizens were evacuated Sunday via the Saudi port of Jeddah.
Nigeria plans to get nearly 3,000 of its nationals, mostly students, out by convoy to Egypt this week, a top official said Monday.
South Africa has begun evacuating dozens of its citizens including embassy staff “to a neighbouring country for safety,” foreign affairs spokesman Clayson Monyela told AFP.
Some of the 800,000 South Sudanese refugees in the country — who fled war in their home country — are returning back on their own, according to the UN refugee agency.
– Asia –
China said Monday it had “safely evacuated” a first group of citizens, with the foreign ministry estimating about 1,500 “Chinese compatriots” are in Sudan.
Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar tweeted on Monday “about 500 Indians have reached Port Sudan. More on their way.”
Indonesia had moved 538 nationals from Khartoum to Port Sudan, with another group of 289 due to travel in a second phase.
The Philippines said Monday it would begin evacuating nearly 700 Filipinos “within the next 24 hours” on buses to Egypt.
Japan and South Korea deployed forces to nearby countries and are preparing for evacuations, while Japanese media reported some nationals were onboard the French aircraft.
© Agence France-Presse