The Federal Council sent elite Swiss soldiers from AAD 10 to the Sudan

The Federal Council has approved the deployment of a contingent of the “Army Reconnaissance Detachment 10” for the evacuation of Swiss embassy personnel. This was the result of research by “Blick”.

The elite soldiers were ordered to support the EDA (Department of Foreign Affairs) in the preparation and implementation of the evacuation. The preconditions: A maximum of 10 family members may be sent to Sudan and the surrounding countries; and for a maximum of three weeks.

As the responsible Federal Councilor Viola Amherd informed military circles this week, the operation was carried out armed. What exactly the members of AAD 10 have done in Sudan and whether they have already returned to Switzerland will not be commented on for security reasons, an EDA spokesperson told Blick.

It is not the first time that the AAD 10 has been used abroad. Since its formation in 2004, members of the elite unit have carried out delicate (and mostly clandestine) missions abroad. They were also used in the evacuation of 280 people from the Afghan capital Kabul in 2021.

The unit specializes in the protection and repatriation of Swiss citizens from crisis areas, but also in obtaining key information and, in case of emergency, in offensive actions on behalf of the army.

(cpf)