2023-04-23 08:56:49
All US diplomats and their families were successfully brought to safety, the White House and the US State Department said on Sunday night. US President Joe Biden called on the warring factions for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire.
Image: ASHRAF SHAZLY (AFP)
France is also getting its embassy staff out of the country. The Ministry of Defense announced in Paris on Sunday that an “operation for the rapid evacuation” of diplomatic personnel and French nationals would be carried out. It was said that European diplomats would also be accepted.
The Netherlands is joining efforts by various countries to evacuate their citizens from Sudan. An operation by several countries is underway, Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra wrote on Twitter on Sunday. “The Netherlands are participating with a team from Jordan. They will do everything they can to get Dutch citizens out of there as quickly and safely as possible.”
Biden appeals to conflict parties
Biden also called on the parties to the conflict not to impede humanitarian aid and to respect the will of the Sudanese people. He receives regular reports from his team to help the Americans in Sudan as much as possible and is therefore also working with allies and partners, said Biden. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken once more called on the parties to the conflict to urgently observe the ceasefire because of the Muslim fast-breaking festival following Ramadan and to permanently cease hostilities.
A week following fighting began in Sudan, the first foreign nationals were taken out of the country. A ship with 50 of its own nationals “and a number of nationals of friendly countries” arrived in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah on Saturday, with more to follow, according to state TV in the kingdom. Fighting in Sudan continued despite the announcement of a ceasefire.
About a week ago, fighting broke out in Sudan between the country’s two most powerful generals and their units. Both had led the country of around 46 million people since a joint military coup in 2021. Now de facto President Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is also the supreme commander of the army, is fighting with the military once morest his deputy Mohammed Hamdaan Daglo, the leader of the powerful paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Actually, Daglo’s group should have been subordinate to the army and power in the country should have been returned to a civilian government.
For days, the US military had been preparing with other Western countries for the evacuation of their own citizens. Additional armed forces were transferred to countries neighboring Sudan. Heavy fighting in and around the embattled airport in Khartoum had so far prevented foreigners from being taken out of the country by plane. On Saturday, General Al-Burhan approved the evacuation of diplomats and other citizens.
The US government had made it very clear in advance that Americans who were not in Sudan as diplomats or embassy staff might not expect to be taken out of the country. US citizens have been strongly advised not to travel to Sudan for a long time, the statement said. The US media recently reported that several thousand Americans might still be in Sudan. There was no official information on this.
The airport in Khartoum has been at the center of hostilities in recent days. Foreign diplomats kept trying to establish a stable ceasefire for the evacuation. A first attempt to take Germans out of the country with Luftwaffe aircraft was canceled on Wednesday because the security situation in the embattled capital was deemed too dangerous for such an operation. A crisis team meets daily in Berlin. A few days ago, the Bundeswehr made preparations for a new attempt to evacuate German citizens and other people to be protected. According to information from the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, around 45 Austrians are currently in Sudan, most of whom are Austrians living abroad and their relatives.
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