The United States, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, among others, began evacuating their citizens or diplomatic personnel from Sudan on Sunday, where fighting between the army and paramilitaries entered its second week.
Source: AFP
Violence in this Northeast African country of some 45 million inhabitants, was unleashed on April 15 between the army of General Abdel Fatah al Burhande facto ruler of Sudan since the 2021 coup, and his rival, General Mohamed Hamdane Dagloleader of the Rapid Support Forces (FAR).
The clashes are essentially taking place in Khartoumthe capital, and in the Darfur regionin the west of the country.
Prisoners have been released from at least one prisonsaid the lawyers, while other sources report, without independent verification, that attacks against two other prisons, mainly the one in Koberwhich houses all political prisoners, including the deposed dictator Omar al-Bashir.
More than 420 people died and 3,700 were injureds so far, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Pope Francis asked that both sides in the dispute resume dialogue in the face of the “serious” situation who lives in the country Two previously agreed truces in the week failed to stop the clashes.
The violence has displaced tens of thousands of people to other areas of Sudanand neighboring Chad and Egypt.
Videos recorded by AFP showed dozens of United Nations vehicles leaving the capital towards Port Sudan, on the shores of the Red Sea, from where 150 people left on Saturday.
It may interest you: Peru’s president changes four ministers in her cabinet
“COMPLEX AND FAST EVACUATION”
France launched a “rapid evacuation operation”, the Foreign Ministry announced on Sunday. The operation includes citizens of Europe and allied countries and a first flight transported n hundred people.
Also Italy indicated that tried to get its citizens trapped in the country out, just like Turkeywhich was forced to halt its operation by an explosion near the meeting place in the Kafuri neighborhood in northern Khartoum.
He British Prime Minister Rishi SunakHe reported that the army of his country proceeded to a “complex and rapid evacuation” of British diplomats and their families.
In a post on Twitter, Sunak stressed that the evacuation took place in a “context of escalating violence and threats against embassy staff.”
The United States also evacuated its government personnel from Khartoum. with helicopters, President Joe Biden said hours earlier in a statement. Washington it also temporarily suspended the operations of its embassy.
The fierce fighting between the forces of the two generals in power they don’t give up
Shootings intensify in and around the capital. Fighter planes fly over the area while the paramilitary armored vehicles are advancing.
The attacks They have already destroyed or forced to close “72% of the hospitals” in the combat zonesalerted the union of doctors.
In the streets, the clashes leave their marks. Some streetlights were lying on the ground on Sunday, while some burned-out stores continued to put out columns of smoke.
Also read: The melting of glaciers breaks records, warns the UN
ENTRANCED INHABITANTS
For researcher Hamid Jalafallah, “ask for safe brokers to evacuate foreigners without at the same time calling for an end to the war it would be terrible”.
“International actors will have less weight when they have left the country: do what you can to leave safely, but don’t leave the Sudanese behind without protection,” he said.
In Khartoum, with a population of 5 million, the conflict left terrified civilians sheltering in their homes. Many fear an upsurge in violence after the departure of the foreigners.
Caught between the fights They lack water and electricity. while food reserves are running out. the networks of Internet and telephone work intermittently.
The first evacuation it was possible for youNo decline in fighting on Fridaythe first day of the Eid al-Fitr festival, which marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The dispute between Burhan and Daglo arose from plans to integrate the FAR into the regular army.a key requirement of the deal to restore democracy to Sudan following the military coup that ousted autocratic ruler Omar al Bashir in April 2019.
The World Food Program warned that Millions more could go hungry due to violencein the third largest country in Africa, where a third of the population needs humanitarian aid.
