Sudan: Army authorizes evacuation of foreigners

The de facto president and commander-in-chief of the army, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has approved the evacuation of civilians and diplomatic officials from the embattled country. An army spokesman said in a statement Saturday that the United States, Britain, France and China will begin evacuating the capital Khartoum “in the coming hours” using military transport aircraft. Al-Burhan has therefore promised to “facilitate and guarantee” the evacuation and to give the countries “the necessary support to ensure this”.

A Saudi Arabian delegation has already been evacuated from the eastern city of Port Sudan, the spokesman said. A Jordanian delegation should also be flown out of Port Sudan later on Saturday.

The weapons control all airports in the country except those in Khartoum and the city of Njala in the South Dafür region, Al-Burhan told Saudi television Al-Arabia live by phone. He will retain control of the army and will only allow his rival and former deputy Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, the leader of the RSF, to escape “in a coffin,” Al-Burhan said.

Airport closure makes evacuation difficult

Since last Saturday, the army of the Northeast African country has been fighting for power against the once allied paramilitary unit Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Khartoum airport has been at the center of hostilities since the beginning of the conflict and was therefore inaccessible. Diplomats have been trying for days to find a resilient ceasefire for the evacuation.

The US embassy in Khartoum said on Saturday that the ongoing fighting and the closure of the capital’s airport make it impossible to evacuate US citizens at this time. The embassy continues to closely monitor the situation in Khartoum and surrounding areas, a statement said. In addition to fighting, there are currently reports of raids, home break-ins and looting.

The embassy also received “incomplete information” about convoys traveling from Khartoum to Port Sudan, it said. The embassy cannot support convoys; According to the report, traveling along is at your own risk.

Meanwhile, according to the Defense Ministry, the Bundeswehr is preparing for another attempt to evacuate German civilians. On Wednesday, an attempted diplomatic evacuation using Luftwaffe aircraft, but without any major deployment of soldiers, was aborted. (sda/dpa)