Countries Evacuate Citizens from Sudan amidst Conflict

The first French flight since the beginning of the conflict on April 15 in Sudan took about 100 people out of the country. The plane landed in Djibouti with nationals from Britain, Germany, France, Switzerland, as well as the African countries of Morocco and Ethiopia on board, a French Foreign Ministry spokesman told AFP on condition of anonymity. The Dutch Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, announced the evacuation of the first group of its citizens from Sudan by a French flight. Other countries have also begun evacuating their citizens from Sudan, including the UK and the US.

Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said a “handful” of his fellow citizens managed to leave Khartoum on a French plane in what he called a “very complex operation” carried out with the help of France, Germany and other countries. The minister’s words are quoted by Reuters. In total, about 150 Dutch citizens have asked to be evacuated, the government said in a letter to Parliament.

The evacuation of German citizens from Sudan was reported by the German Foreign and Defense Ministry. “Berlin is conducting an ongoing evacuation operation… in coordination with our partners,” both ministries tweeted. “Within our capacity, we will also take citizens of the EU and other countries with us,” the ministries said.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said diplomatic staff and their families have been evacuated from Sudan. “I pay tribute to the dedication of our diplomats and the bravery of the military personnel who carried out this difficult operation,” Mr. Sunak wrote on Twitter. British citizens living in Sudan were not evacuated, according to Reuters.

British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said that British troops had carried out the rescue operation jointly with the US, France and other unnamed allies.

According to the World Health Organization, which today leads AFP, as a result of clashes in Sudan, at least 420 people were killed, 3.7 thousand were injured.

Armed clashes began against the background of the decision to integrate the paramilitary Rapid Reaction Forces into the regular army of Sudan.

Read more in the publication “Kommersant” “The Judgment Days of Sudan”.

Maria Fedotova