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Departures prevented – FDFA on Sudan: Evacuation of Swiss not possible for the time being – News

21 April 2023

The staff of the Swiss embassy in Sudan and other Swiss abroad who are permanently registered in the country have to remain in the country. There are around a hundred people in total.
In the past few days, the Department of Foreign Affairs (EDA) had been examining ways in which the Swiss could have been flown out in Sudan.
However, the situation in the country does not currently allow an organized departure, according to the responsible offices in the FDFA.

Combat operations broke out in Sudan on Friday, even after the start of an agreed ceasefire. A Reuters reporter reported that heavy exchanges of gunfire could be heard in the capital, Khartoum. There are also occasional airstrikes.

The army had previously agreed to a three-day ceasefire. The military had announced that it was to begin on Friday so that the Muslim festival of breaking the fast after Ramadan could be celebrated. “The armed forces hope that the rebels will comply with all terms of the ceasefire and will not take any military action that could impede the ceasefire,” it said. The RSF militia had previously agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire.

“The fighting continues,” said Serge Bavaud, head of crisis management at the FDFA in Bern. Despite international pressure, there are no signs of negotiations between the conflicting parties to end the fighting.

Legend:

Smoke rises in Khartoum: Fighting broke out between the country’s two most powerful generals and their units on Saturday (pictured April 15, 2023).

Keystone/AP Photo/Marwan Ali

In a background discussion with journalists, Bavaud spoke of an unpredictable and dangerous situation. The situation for the Swiss embassy is made more difficult by the fact that its headquarters are in a contested part of the Sudanese capital Khartoum. Some of the employees were stuck in the embassy. Sometimes they could not leave their homes and worked from there.

The ambassador’s residence was hit and employees’ residential buildings were damaged, explained Bavaud. There are currently seven Swiss diplomats stationed in Sudan. There are also five escorts and two Swiss nationals who were sent by the Defense Department and are working in Khartoum for a UN mission. The Swiss embassy also employs around 50 locals, including 30 security guards.

More difficult situation than in Afghanistan

Bavaud reported on a difficult humanitarian situation in Khartoum. There is looting and the supply is problematic. In addition, it is not easy to obtain reliable information on the security situation. The military situation is unclear.

Fighting broke out in Sudan on Saturday between the country’s two most powerful generals and their units. The two men have led the country in northeast Africa with around 46 million inhabitants since a joint military coup in 2021.

De facto President Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is also the Army Commander-in-Chief, is fighting with the military against his deputy Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, the leader of the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Most recently, hopes of a ceasefire at the end of the Islamic month of fasting, Ramadan, had been dashed.

Overall, according to the diplomat, crisis management is more difficult than when the Afghan Taliban took power in Kabul in 2021, because there was already an international military presence in Kabul. In contrast, the international community cannot simply send troops to Sudan, after all it is a sovereign state.

A satellite image from Maxar Technologies shows plumes of smoke from destroyed aircraft.

According to the FDFA, all of this makes it impossible for Swiss people to evacuate the embassy and organize their departure. Bavaud explained that there are currently no security guarantees from the parties to the conflict. The operation of the airport has been discontinued. In any case, an evacuation is only realistic with military transport aircraft – it is unlikely that airlines will make their machines available. He hopes for a ceasefire and a time window for an evacuation.

Few people have been interested in leaving the country so far

According to the FDFA, around a hundred Swiss are registered as living in Sudan. The federal government does not believe that everyone wants to leave the country. Many of these people have their lives in Sudan, some are Swiss-Sudanese dual citizens. Only around a dozen people have so far expressed an interest in an organized departure, said Bavaud.

In addition, not all Swiss people are affected by the conflict, he emphasized. The FDFA does not currently have any information about injured Swiss nationals.