Image source, Getty Images
Khartoum’s international airport has been caught up in the fighting
Diplomats and nationals from the UK, US, France and China are to be evacuated from Sudan by air as fighting continues there, a statement from the Sudanese army said.
Army chief Fattah al-Burhan agreed to speed up and ensure their evacuation “in the coming hours”, it said.
He is locked in a bitter power struggle with the leader of a rival paramilitary faction, the Rapid Support Forces.
The UK government says it is preparing for “multiple contingencies”.
Previous plans to evacuate foreigners have not been implemented due to safety fears.
A statement from the army said British, US, French and Chinese nationals and diplomats would be evacuated by air in military transport planes from the capital, Khartoum.
The UK government said it was “doing everything possible to support British nationals and diplomatic staff in Khartoum”.
It said its defense ministry was working with the foreign office to prepare more provisions, without specifying whether immediate evacuations were among the plans.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak chaired a meeting of Cobra – an emergency response committee – on Saturday morning about the situation in Sudan.
Saudi Arabia also announced that it is arranging the evacuation of citizens and nationals of “sister” countries. State TV channel Al-Ekhbariyah reported that some Saudi citizens and other nationals arrived at the port city of Jeddah on Saturday.
Khartoum’s international airport was closed due to the violence, with foreign embassies – including the UK and US – unable to take their citizens home.
The conflict entered its second week despite both sides – the army and the RSF – agreeing to a three-day ceasefire to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, starting on Friday.
On Saturday gunfire and air strikes were heard in the capital despite the ceasefire.
A former foreign minister, Mariam al-Mahdi, who is holed up in Khartoum told the BBC that the ceasefire was “never held”.
“We have lost electricity for the past 24 hours. We have had no water for the past six days,” he said.
Medical teams have been targeted in the fighting, he said, adding: “There are rotting bodies of our youth on the streets.”
Thousands of people have been trying to flee Sudan since the violent conflict began
Fierce street fights erupted in Khartoum on 15 April following disagreements between the leaders of the two sides – General Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo of the RSF – over how Sudan should be run.
They both hold top positions in Sudan’s current military government, which was formed after the 2019 coup that ousted longtime leader Omar al-Bashir.
They were supposed to join forces but the RSF resisted this change, mobilizing its troops that led to full-scale fighting last week.
The World Health Organization says more than 400 people have died. The death toll is believed to be higher as people struggle to reach hospitals.
Thousands of people, mostly civilians, have also been injured, with medical centers under pressure to cope with the influx of patients.
Along with Khartoum, the western region of Darfur, where the RSF first emerged, has also been severely affected by the fighting.
The UN has warned that up to 20,000 people – mostly women and children – have fled Sudan to seek safety in Chad, across the border from Darfur.
