Italy Completes Complicated Rescue Mission to Evacuate Citizens from Sudan Conflict

In a chaotic and bloody war fought in the heart of a metropolis of five million inhabitants, Italy has completed a very complicated rescue mission for the almost 150 compatriots trapped in Khartoum. Similar operations have also been carried out by other countries that are rescuing their own citizens from the conflict that has been pitting the army against the paramilitary for control of Sudan for nine days at the cost of hundreds of dead and thousands injured.

In the evening, the first Italian C-130 had already taken off for Djibouti carrying most of the compatriots who had asked to leave the country, while subsequently another 40 left for Djibouti, thanks to the collaboration with the Spanish armed forces . And in the late evening Ambassador Michele Tommasi left Khartoum with military personnel.

“After a day of anxious waiting, all our compatriots in Sudan who have asked to leave have been evacuated. There are also foreign citizens with them. Italy does not leave anyone behind”, said Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, thanking all those who carried out the delicate operation. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani had previously let it be known that “if things go the right way, we count on having our compatriots in Italy tomorrow”, specifying that they are 140 people plus some Swiss, employees of the Nunciature apostolic and about twenty European citizens for a total of about 200 civilians. Then in the evening the minister had given the news that “all the Italians who have asked to leave Sudan are safe and on their way to Djibouti”. In the afternoon, the paramilitaries had announced the departure of the Italians from the embassy to the airport, ascribing the credit for it.

The meeting point for everyone was the Italian embassy, ​​fully operational, Tajani specified, referring to the diplomatic mission led by ambassador Tommasi and established in an area where at least eight of the 24 battle fronts were still being reported on Saturday between the two factions. Also for this reason, on board the two C-130s of the Air Force that took off at 13.55 Italian time from Djibouti to Khartoum were men of the Italian army special forces and of the Carabinieri coordinated by the joint operational command. “The security of the airports is ensured by the air riflemen of the air force”, explained the Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto who in the evening also expressed his satisfaction with the successful evacuation. Khartoum airport is under the control of loyalists, ie the army led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, de facto president of the country. The head of the Farnesina reported that he had spoken with both leaders of the conflicting parties and that he had received guarantees of security for the Italians.

The scenario in Khartoum is so critical that the US has had to close its embassy and evacuate diplomatic personnel with a military plane, as announced by US President Joe Biden. The successful evacuation of its embassy staff was also announced by the United Kingdom. Almost a hundred people have also been evacuated from France, which expects to bring another hundred to safety. In an operation that was later aborted, a Frenchman was wounded by a paramilitary sniper, at least according to the version provided by the Sudanese army. An employee of the Embassy of Egypt, a country at risk of involvement in the conflict, was also injured in another incident.

Germany (which announced the evacuation of 101 people in the evening), Belgium and the Netherlands also announced the start of evacuation operations for their citizens from Sudan after Saudi Arabia had already managed to repatriate 91 of them on Saturday. In addition, in Khartoum Dozens of white United Nations vehicles and many buses were seen lining up towards Port Said despite the fact that the three-day humanitarian truce announced on Friday has also been violated in the last few hours, among other things with air raids by the Armed Forces which, according to the paramilitaries , have caused “dozens of deaths and injuries”. The most recent and reliable blood count, the one announced by WHO last Friday, which indicated at least 413 dead, including nine children, and 3,551 injured, therefore appears increasingly incomplete.

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