“Safety is not guaranteed”

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In Sudan, bloody fighting has been going on for a week between the Sudanese army led by Abdel Fattah Burhan (63) and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by Mohammed Hamdan Daglo (47). The Russian mercenary group Wagner is also said to be active there.

Meanwhile, even private homes are being attacked by missiles and nearly 200 people are said to have died. The situation is getting more and more dangerous – also for the approximately 100 Swiss who are in the country.

Swiss residence hit

However, they cannot be evacuated, as Serge Bavaud, head of the Foreign Ministry’s crisis management center, said in Bern on Friday. “The situation is dangerous and unpredictable,” he said. And the Swiss are in the middle of the hostilities taking place in the center of the capital Khartoum.

The fact that the residence of the Swiss ambassador was also hit shows how dramatic the situation is. Windows are broken. Houses where embassy personnel live were also shot at. Not intentionally, as Bavaud explained, but as collateral damage.

“Hope for a Ceasefire”

“The safety of our staff is our top priority,” says Bavaud. For the time being, this means that the embassy staff will work where they are now. Moving them to the embassy is too dangerous because hostilities are also breaking out in the diplomatic quarter.

A ceasefire and security guarantees from the parties to the conflict are needed to evacuate personnel and organize the departure of the approximately 100 Swiss nationals registered in the country. But these are not available. “Despite international pressure, there are no signs of an end to fighting,” Bavaud continued.

The airport in Khartoum in the immediate vicinity of the embassy is also under fighting and is therefore not operational. “We hope for a ceasefire – so that we have a chance to evacuate,” Bavaud continued. (sf)

Source:Blick