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WORLD NEWS Monday 24 april 2023

Diplomats flee Sudan fighting as citizens struggle to escape

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP)
— Foreign governments
evacuated diplomats, staff
and others from Sudan on
Sunday as rival generals
battled for a ninth day with
no sign of a truce that had
been declared for a major
Muslim holiday.
While world powers like the
U.S. and Britain airlifted their
diplomats from the capital
of Khartoum, Sudanese
desperately sought to flee
the chaos. Many risked
dangerous roads to cross
the northern border into
Egypt.
"My family -- my mother,
my siblings and my neph- In this photo provided by Maheen S, smoke fills the sky in Khartoum, Sudan, near Doha International
ews -- are on the road from Hospital on Friday, April 21, 2023.
Sudan to Cairo through As- Associated Press
wan," prominent Sudanese military official said it re- fect on residents' ability to countries — to a military
filmmaker Amjad Abual- pelled an RSF attack on stay safe and will impact base in Djibouti in the Gulf
Ala wrote on Facebook. Kober Prison in Khartoum the evacuation programs of Aden, and another flight
Fighting raged in Omdur- where Sudan's longtime that are ongoing." was planned for Monday.
man, a city across the Nile ruler, Omar al-Bashir, and After a week of battles that Other flights from Sudan
from Khartoum, residents former officials in his move- hindered rescues, U.S. spe- were organized by Jordan,
said, despite a hoped-for ment have been held since cial forces swiftly evacuat- Spain, Germany, Greece
cease-fire to coincide with his 2019 ouster. The official, ed 70 U.S. Embassy staffers and the Netherlands.
the three-day Muslim holi- who spoke on condition of from Khartoum to Ethiopia Britain's Prime Minister Rishi
day of Eid al-Fitr. anonymity because he was early Sunday. Although Sunak tweeted that U.K.
"We did not see such a not authorized to talk to the American officials said it armed forces evacuated
truce," Amin al-Tayed said media, said a number of was too dangerous for a British diplomatic staff and
from his home near state prisoners fled but al-Bashir government-coordinated dependents "amid a signifi-
TV headquarters in Omdur- and other high-profile in- evacuation of thousands cant escalation in violence
man, adding that heavy mates were in a "highly se- of private citizens, other and threats."
gunfire and thundering ex- cure" area, adding that "a countries scrambled to re- Overland travel through
plosions rocked the city. few prisoners" were killed or move their citizens as well contested areas was pos-
Over 420 people, includ- wounded. as their diplomats. sible but dangerous. Khar-
ing 264 civilians, have The RSF claimed the military France and Italy said they toum is about 840 kilome-
been killed and over 3,700 removed al-Bashir and oth- would accommodate all ters (520 miles) from Port
wounded in fighting be- er prisoners from the facil- their citizens who want to Sudan on the Red Sea.
tween the Sudanese ity, although the statement leave, as well as those of On Saturday, Saudi Arabia
armed forces and the pow- could not be independent- other countries who could said it evacuated 157 peo-
erful paramilitary group ly confirmed. not otherwise join an evac- ple, including 91 Saudi na-
known as the Rapid Sup- The Arqin border crossing uation operation. tionals and citizens of other
port Forces, or RSF. with Egypt was crowded French President Emmanu- countries. Saudi state TV
The RSF said the armed with about 30 passenger el Macron and his foreign showed a large convoy of
forces unleashed airstrikes buses of at least 55 peo- minister were given secu- cars and buses from Khar-
on the upscale neighbor- ple each, said Suliman al- rity guarantees by both toum to Port Sudan, where
hood of Kafouri, north of Kouni, an Egyptian student sides for the evacuation, a navy ship took them to
Khartoum. There was no im- who fled northward from according to Defense and the Saudi port of Jeddah.
mediate army comment. Khartoum with dozens of Foreign Ministry officials Fighters attacked a U.S.
The ongoing violence has other students. who spoke on condition of Embassy convoy last week,
affected operations at the "We traveled 15 hours anonymity because they and stormed the home of
main international airport, on land at our own risk," weren't authorized to talk the EU ambassador. Vio-
destroying civilian planes al-Kouni told The Associ- publicly. Two French flights lence wounded an Egyp-
and damaging at least one ated Press by phone. "But took off Sunday from Khar- tian Embassy employee
runway, and thick, black many of our friends are still toum to Djibouti, carrying in Sudan, according to
smoke rose above it. Oth- trapped in Sudan." about 200 people from var- Egypt's Foreign Ministry
er airports also have been Sudan experienced a ious countries, and more spokesman Ahmed Abu
knocked out of operation. "near-total collapse" of in- were planned Monday, ac- Zaid.
European Union foreign ternet and phone service cording to another French Egypt, which said it had
policy chief Josep Borrell Sunday, according to the military official speaking over 10,000 citizens in Su-
tweeted he had spoken monitoring service Net- anonymously under the dan, urged those in cities
with the rival command- Blocks. same rules. other than Khartoum to
ers, urging an immediate "It's possible that infrastruc- Italy's Defense Ministry head to consular offices in
cease-fire to protect civil- ture has been damaged said two C-130s landed Port Sudan and Wadi Halfa
ians and the evacuation of or sabotaged," said Net- at Khartoum airport to air- in the north for evacuation,
EU citizens. blocks director Alp Toker. lift evacuees — including the state-run MENA news
In other fighting, a senior "This will have a major ef- those from other European agency reported.q