The governments of the United States, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain, among others, intensified this Monday, April 24, the evacuations of their officials and citizens, after an apparent pause in the fighting between the Army and the paramilitaries of the Response Forces. Rapid (FAR), who are fighting for power in Sudan. As foreigners leave the country, Sudanese remain trapped in their homes, many without food or water.
The armed clashes in Sudan are entering their second week, as many fear an open civil war.
Evacuations of diplomats and foreign citizens accelerated on Monday, April 24, a day after the United States removed its embassy staff in military helicopters, prompting a wave of bailouts from other countries.
France and Germany reported in the last few hours that they have evacuated around 700 people, including individuals of other nationalities, while a German Air Force plane carrying dozens more citizens landed in Berlin this morning.
Spain also reported that it had removed more than 100 civilians from the country, including Latin American citizens. Likewise, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak, pointed out that his country’s forces have evacuated diplomats and their families. “We had to take advantage of a small window of opportunity,” said a spokesman for the British government.
For his part, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reported that he is suspending his evacuation operations for now.
“We have temporarily suspended Canadian operations in Sudan. Our diplomats are safe, have been extracted and are working from outside the country. We are looking at all possible options to support our locally committed staff, ”Trudeau said in a message posted on his Twitter account.
Meanwhile, Switzerland reported on April 24 that, after evacuating its diplomatic staff and their families with the support of France, it decided to close its embassy in Khartoum for security reasons.
In addition to the European governments, China, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia have also been mobilized in rescue operations.
Warplanes have bombarded the capital, where the main airport has been at the center of fighting and artillery barrages have made travel in and out of one of Africa’s biggest cities highly unsafe. A US diplomatic convoy has even come under attack and at least five aid workers are among the more than 400 fatalities confirmed so far by the UN.
What happens in Sudan?
The wave of violence in progress broke out last Saturday, April 15, between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitaries of the Rapid Response Forces (FAR), which – in the absence of a government – have co-governed, but today are fighting for control of the country.
In the center, two powerful men facing each other: the general and leader of the Army, Abdel Fattah Burhan, which heads the so-called Sovereign Council for the transition of power in Sudan; while the general Mohamed Hamdanalso know as ‘Hemedti’, He has served as vice president of that body and is the one who leads the FAR.
The latest episode of contention occurred after members of the Rapid Response Forces were deployed in several cities in Sudan without the consent of the Army, something seen by the military institution as a threat from the paramilitary group.
But beyond the latest disagreements, the instability and violence in Sudan respond to numerous coups d’état in the country, since its independence from the United Kingdom and Egypt, in 1959.
Although the two banks currently at odds cooperated in the past in seizing power by force, the current Friction comes after an internationally backed plan to launch a new transition to government with civilian parties broke down. A final pact was scheduled to be signed early this April, on the fourth anniversary of the overthrow of autocrat Omar al-Bashir.
However, to do so, both the Army and the FAR were forced to cede power and two issues were particularly contentious: the timetable for the FAR to integrate into the regular Armed Forces and determining when the Army would formally be under civilian supervision.
Neither side is willing to lose power on a military level.
The United States warns of a possible humanitarian crisis
As different governments work to remove their diplomats and citizens in general, Sudanese remain trapped in their homes amid the outbreak of explosions, gunfire and even airstrikes.
But efforts by foreigners to leave the country raise fears among Sudanese about what could happen once diplomats from nations that could serve as potential crisis mediators have left.
In sweltering heat, the conflict leaves thousands of civilians terrified, without electricity, internet and, in many cases, without food or water..
“I would say that life in Khartoum today is still fraught with anxiety and exhaustion,” resident Tagreed Abdin told AFP.
The United States government warned of a humanitarian crisis in the Sudanese territory, after pointing out the severe shortage of medicines, food and water. Against this background, Washington reported that it had sent a team of disaster response experts to Kenya to coordinate the delivery of aid to Sudan from there.
In recent days, several truce attempts have been announced, but all have been unsuccessful, as armed operations by the two parties involved continue.
Despite the risks, thousands have managed to leave the country. On Monday, neighboring South Sudan reported that around 10,000 people had entered its territory from Sudan as they fled fighting.
With Reuters, AFP and AP
