Europe
2023.04.23 23:25 GMT+8

Sudan: What are European countries doing to evacuate their nationals?

Updated 2023.04.23 23:25 GMT+8
CGTN

Saudi Royal Navy officers assist a child onboard as they evacuate Saudi and other nationals from Port Sudan. /Saudi Ministry of Defense/Reuters

Sudan has erupted in a sudden conflict between the government-backed Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and its former allies the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group.

More than 400 people have already been killed in the fighting, while thousands of foreigners, including diplomats and aid workers, have been left stranded there.

Evacuations are gaining pace, but near constant bombing in the capital of Khartoum have hampered several air missions to get foreign nationals out.

Meanwhile, there are reports that internet connectivity has collapsed across the country, further hindering evacuation efforts.

Here's what European countries and others states around the world are doing to evacuate their nationals.

 

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BRITAIN

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Sunday the country's armed forces had evacuated diplomatic staff and their family members from Sudan.

"I pay tribute to the commitment of our diplomats and bravery of the military personnel who carried out this difficult operation," Sunak wrote on Twitter. 

"We are continuing to pursue every avenue to end the bloodshed in Sudan and ensure the safety of British nationals remaining in the country."

Plumes of smoke rises over the city of Khartoum. /Screengrab/Reuters

Sunak had met with security chiefs on Saturday to discuss the conflict and evacuation efforts, while a government spokesperson said the Ministry of Defense was working with the Foreign Office "to prepare for a number of contingencies."

Sudan's army said it had agreed to help establish safe pathways for evacuations by France, Britain, the U.S., and China.

However, some UK nationals trapped in Sudan have expressed concern over the absence of an airlift or news from the authorities. 

 

FRANCE

France's Foreign Ministry has said it is evacuating its diplomats and citizens, as well as those of other EU and allied countries.

The Ministry of Defense on Sunday announced that an "expeditious evacuation operation" was underway.

However, a French convoy was reportedly attacked during the evacuation process, with at least one French national injured. 

The warring army and RSF have blamed each other for the incident. The latter claimed it had been attacked by aircraft during the evacuation, adding that it had returned the convoy to its starting point.

France's Foreign Ministry has not yet commented on the reported attack or injury.

 

GERMANY

A German Defense Ministry spokesperson said that the army had begun preparations for a fresh attempt to evacuate their citizens after an earlier effort was aborted two days ago. 

"The Bundeswehr (German Armed Forced) is preparing options for the repatriation of German citizens from Sudan and other people to be protected," a Defence spokesperson said.

"In this context, the protection of our citizens in Sudan is the priority," they added.

That follows an emergency Foreign Office meeting in Berlin on the situation in Sudan, co-chaired by Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. 

 

Germany's Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius attend a crisis team meeting in Berlin on Sunda. /Pool via Reuters

 

NETHERLANDS

According to Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra, the Netherlands was joining a joint operation by several countries to evacuate their nationals. 

"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," Hoekstra wrote on Twitter.

 

SPAIN 

Spain has previously sent six planes to Djibouti to evacuate its citizens and members of other nations, according to media reports.

Madrid was working "intensely" to get a landing slot for planes to safely evacuate its citizens, a government source told CNN on Sunday.

 

SWEDEN AND NORWAY

Sweden’s parliament gave the green light for up to 400 soldiers to help carry out an evacuation of Swedish and foreign citizens.

Norwegian government staff stationed in Sudan were also reportedly being evacuated, according to foreign ministry sources. 

 

Saudi citizens and other nationals are evacuated by a Saudi Navy Ship. /Saudi Ministry of Defense/Reuters

 

CHINA

China's Foreign Ministry said it would do everything possible to protect the safety of over 1,500 Chinese nationals in Sudan.

Speaking with Chinese media on Sunday, Wu Xi, director-general of the Department of Consular Affairs at the Foreign Ministry, said President Xi Jinping had given important instructions on strengthening the security protection of Chinese citizens and institutions in Sudan. 

She added that the Foreign Ministry was working with its embassy in Sudan and the Sudanese government to closely follow developments and maintain close contact with Chinese citizens in the conflict zone.

On Saturday General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of the SAF, said he would help evacuate Chinese, American, British, and French citizens and diplomats.

The Chinese embassy in Sudan issued a notice on the same day asking nationals wanting to leave to fill out the relevant forms to do so, adding that its citizens in Sudan should keep monitoring the situation and remain vigilant.

 

THE U.S.

U.S. special forces have evacuated all U.S. government personnel and their family members, as well as a few diplomats from other countries.

The operation from the U.S. embassy was carried out using helicopters that flew from a base in Djibouti, spending just one hour on the ground to bring out fewer than 100 people. The aircraft were not fired on during the evacuation.

Washington had said it was not planning to coordinate an evacuation of other U.S. citizens in Sudan but was looking at options to help them leave.

However, an assistant secretary of defense said the military might use drone or satellite imagery to detect threats to Americans travelling on overland routes out of Sudan, or send ships to Port Sudan to aid Americans arriving there.

Saudis and staff of Saudi Airline pose for a photo as they arrive in Jeddah after being evacuated from Sudan. /Saudi Ministry of Defense/Handout/Reuters

 

RUSSIA

Moscow's ambassador in Khartoum told Russian state media that 140 out of roughly 300 Russians in Sudan had said they wanted to leave. 

Evacuation plans were made but were still impossible to implement because they involve crossing frontlines, the ambassador said.

 

EGYPT

Egypt has urged its citizens outside Khartoum to head to the consulates in Port Sudan and Wadi Halfa, in the north, to prepare for evacuation, while calling on its nationals in Khartoum to shelter at home until the situation improved.

It said there needed to be a "meticulous, safe and organized" evacuation process for its 10,000 nationals in neighboring Sudan to reach home.

It added that one of its diplomats had been wounded by gunfire, without giving details.

 

SAUDI ARABIA AND KUWAIT

Saudi Arabia on Saturday evacuated 91 Saudis and about 66 people from other countries, including Qatar, Egypt, Canada, India, Burkina Faso and the United Arab Emirates, via Port Sudan and across the Red Sea to Jeddah.

Kuwait said all citizens wanting to return home had arrived in Jeddah.

 

QATAR

Sudan's army accused the RSF of attacking and looting a Qatari embassy convoy heading to Port Sudan. Neither the RSF nor Qatar have commented.

 

OTHER COUNTRIES

Türkiye pushed back its evacuation efforts on Sunday, telling citizens not to gather at formerly designated assembly points due to "violent explosions" that had taken place nearby. 

Canada had told its citizens on Saturday that evacuations were "not possible at this time," saying they should instead "continue to shelter in place."

Jordan said it had begun evacuating about 300 of its nationals from Port Sudan on Saturday.

South Korea said on Friday it was sending a military aircraft to evacuate its 25 citizens in Sudan.

 

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Source(s): Reuters
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