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WORLD NEWS Friday 28 april 2023

World powers pull their citizens as violence roils Sudan

By SYLVIE CORBET Minister Rishi Sunak defend-
Associated Press ed the government's ap-
PARIS (AP) — Leila Oulke- proach, saying diplomats
bous' research for her doc- had been evacuated first
torate from one of France's "because they were being
top universities was going targeted."
well when the explosions The British government
started. since said that 301 people
Oulkebous had decided to have been evacuated on
focus her field work on Su- four U.K. flights from Sudan
dan when the country ex- over the past 24 hours, and
ploded into violence. four more are scheduled
The chiefs of the country's Wednesday. Britain intends
army and its rival Rapid Sup- to keep running the flights
port Forces rose to power for as long as possible. In
after a popular uprising in addition, "rapid deploy-
2019 prompted them to re- ment teams" of U.K. officials
move longtime autocratic are in Port Sudan assessing
ruler Omar al-Bashir. They potential for a seaborne
started fighting this month evacuation.
amid tensions over a new In this handout image, provided by the UK Ministry of Defence, on The Foreign Office says U.K.
plan to re-introduce civilian Wednesday, April 26, 2023 British Nationals seen here boarding passport-holders are eligi-
an RAF aircraft in Akrotiri, Cyprus, after being evacuated from
rule. Sudan. ble, "and priority is given to
The bombing shook the Associated Press family groups with children
house where Oulkebous and/or the elderly or indi-
was living in the capital, military had personnel on Saudi Arabia on Wednes- viduals with medical condi-
Khartoum, investigating the the ground to assess the day, including many on the tions."
effects of dams on rivers situation during the opera- French warship Lorraine. Officials have said there
that cross borders. tion, he said. Saudi Arabia on Saturday are as many as 4,000 British
"We were hiding all the Several nations, including organized the first evacu- citizens in Sudan, 2,000 of
time under the bed," she Japan, thanked France for ation convoy by land, whom have registered for
said Wednesday at Paris' rescuing their citizens. via cars and buses bring- potential evacuation.
Charles de Gaulle airport as Some other countries ing people to Port Sudan, The White House said Mon-
hundreds of people arrived quickly joined evacuation where a navy ship took day the U.S. is helping from
in harrowing evacuations. efforts. them to Jeddah. afar as thousands of Ameri-
World powers were rescu- Czech Foreign Minister Jan The French foreign affairs cans left behind in Sudan
ing people from Sudan Lipavsky said Wednesday ministry said a flight car- seek to escape fighting in
on planes and warships in three nationals have been rying 184 French nation- the east African nation, af-
operations prompted by evacuated with help from als and their families and ter the U.S. Embassy evacu-
the eruption of the fight- Germany, and his country about 20 other nationals ated all of its diplomatic
ing that sent thousands of is now working with Turkey returned from Djibouti and personnel over the week-
foreigners and many more to help evacuate two oth- landed in Paris Wednesday end and shut down.
Sudanese people fleeing er citizens. morning. The Biden administration is
for safety. Greek national Christos Among them was Oulke- considering several options
A French frigate carry- Dedes, who was in Sudan bous, a Moroccan PhD for assisting private Ameri-
ing hundreds of evacuees for work, said he and his student at Bordeaux Mon- can citizens in getting out
docked Wednesday morn- colleagues managed to taigne University. of Sudan.
ing in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia leave their Khartoum hotel "The feeling I had since the Two U.S. officials said one
as part of broader efforts Tuesday via the Portuguese first day of fighting was I option being considered
involving several warships, embassy, which sent a car felt really paralysed, I didn't would be to send U.S. Navy
in addition to airlifts. to drive them to the air- know what to do, I didn't vessels in, or en route to,
French military spokesman base where there were Ital- know how to get out, the the Red Sea to dock at Port
Col. Pierre Gaudilliere said ian, French and German airport was closed, we Sudan and take Americans
France evacuated more soldiers. could not leave," she said, to Jeddah or another loca-
than 500 civilians from 40 "We just happened to describing "the explosions, tion. The officials said this
nations by plane over the leave with the Italians, on the smoke, so really, I didn't would depend on the se-
weekend after securing the a transport plane," he said have the time to fully re- curity situation and wheth-
airbase north of Khartoum on Greek TV channel Mega alise what was going on." er it was deemed safe for
Saturday, using its airbase Wednesday, after he ar- A Royal Air Maroc plane the ships to dock.
in neighbouring Djibouti for rived in Athens. arrived at Casablanca's A U.S. official said the mili-
the airlift. From their Khartoum hotel, Mohammed V airport on tary has developed other
Gaudilliere said the French he said, they could see that Wednesday, carrying 136 options for getting Ameri-
military was the first to land, "every day the battles were Moroccan nationals evac- cans, including using an
and organized the flow of heavier. Both (sides) were uated from Sudan. airfield that some Euro-
its own and other nations' using heavy weapons." He In contrast with France and pean countries have used
planes. said they would hear explo- some other nations, the U.S. to fly out citizens. To date,
"You still had airstrikes as sions at night, and see bod- and Britain didn't evacuate it has not been told to do
the operation was going ies in the street. non-diplomats at first. that, the official said.
on, crossfire in the streets, More than 1,000 people The British government has The officials spoke on the
artillery fire, so it was and from 58 countries were to come under growing criti- condition of anonymity in
still is very intense fighting," arrive Wednesday by ship cism for its failure to airlift order to discuss sensitive
Gaudilliere said. The French to the port of Jeddah in civilians. On Tuesday, Prime matters.q