- The US has evacuated all embassy employees in the Sudanese capital Khartoum and closed the embassy there.
- Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed to the BBC that all British diplomats have also been evacuated.
- Some Swiss nationals are also waiting. According to Bern, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) is constantly examining appropriate scenarios and measures.
- According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 413 people have lost their lives and more than 3,500 have been injured since the fighting began. The actual number of victims is probably much higher.
All US diplomats and their families were successfully brought to safety, the White House and the US State Department said on Sunday night.
US President Joe Biden called on the warring factions for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire. He also called on them not to obstruct humanitarian aid and to respect the will of the Sudanese people.
French citizens evacuated
According to the government, France has started an operation to evacuate diplomats and French citizens from Sudan. The Foreign Ministry said on Sunday morning in Paris that nationals of other EU countries and “allied partner countries” should also be brought to safety during the operation.
According to diplomats, the Sudanese army and its enemy RFS militia had previously given security guarantees for the French evacuation mission. According to this, around 250 French live in Sudan.
General Al-Burhan authorized the evacuations
Heavy fighting in and around Khartoum’s contested airport had so far prevented foreigners from being flown out of the country. On Saturday, General Al-Burhan approved the evacuation of diplomats and other citizens.
Foreign diplomats kept trying to establish a stable ceasefire for the evacuation. A first attempt to take Germans out of the country with Luftwaffe aircraft was canceled on Wednesday because the security situation in the embattled capital was deemed too dangerous for such an operation.
Swiss citizens are waiting to be repatriated
Swiss nationals are also waiting to be brought out of Sudan. 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.
The FDFA confirmed to SRF on Saturday that corresponding scenarios and measures would be examined on an ongoing basis.
Army fights against paramilitaries
About a week ago, fighting broke out in Sudan between the country’s two most powerful generals and their units. Both had led the country of around 46 million people since a joint military coup in 2021.
Now de facto President Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is also the supreme commander of the army, is fighting with the military against his deputy Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, the leader of the powerful paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Actually, Daglo’s group should have been subordinate to the army and power in the country should have been returned to a civilian government.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 413 people have lost their lives and more than 3,500 have been injured since the fighting began. The actual number of victims is probably much higher.