Khartoum bids farewell to foreigners – Evacuation map
“Whether to flee or stay, two options are the best: pass to those born on Sudanese soil or drink from their Nile, and experience the details of their streets and family traditions.”
“This is the case in the capital, Khartoum, a city that has historically been a haven for people fleeing civil wars in the far reaches of the African country.”
But now the Sudanese capital has become the epicenter of an armed conflict between the army and the RSF, and both have set up checkpoints and the two sides have clashed indiscriminately, leading to a rising death toll and severe shortages of food, electricity and water.
“In the face of this scene, horrific conditions led to the evacuation of foreign nationals, a mass exodus and the transformation of Khartoum from a crowded capital of 5 million people into a ghost town.”
Following is an evacuation map currently focused via Port Sudan on the Red Sea, 850 kilometers from the capital, and Khartoum’s main airport is the scene of heavy fighting.
United States and Canada
The United States on Sunday evacuated about 100 people, including its embassy staff and some foreign diplomats from Khartoum, in three Sh-47 Chinook helicopters it sent from Djibouti to Ethiopia and then to Sudan.
Thousands of United States citizens remain in Sudan, some of them of other nationalities.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada had evacuated its embassy staff from Khartoum.
European Union
“More than 1,000 EU nationals have left Sudan in evacuations over the weekend, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said on Monday.”
“The EU has a diplomatic mission in Khartoum, along the lines of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Greece and the Czech Republic.”
Meanwhile, the French Foreign Ministry announced Monday the evacuation of “388 people, including French citizens who expressed their desire to do so, as well as a large number of other countries’ citizens, Europeans in particular, Africans from the American continent and Asia,” from Sudan, after several flights took place since Sunday between Khartoum and Djibouti.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Sunday that all of her citizens who had asked to leave Sudan had been evacuated, hours after Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the Italian army had evacuated “about 200 people, including Swiss citizens and members of the Apostolic Nuncio” across Djibouti.
Dutch Foreign Minister Faubke Hoekstra said a “handful” of Dutch nationals had been evacuated in a French plane, hoping for another group to be evacuated later on in a Dutch plane.
“Germany announced the evacuation of 300 people, including citizens and other nationalities, in three planes after a failed attempt last Wednesday.”
A Spanish plane evacuated 100 people – 30 from Spain and 70 from Europe and Latin America – from Sudan to Djibouti on Sunday, Madrid said.
Greece said it had evacuated on Sunday a first group of its citizens, including two wounded, to Djibouti “with the help of France”, and that 10 citizens and their families had left in the Italian evacuation.
Ireland said it had begun an “evacuation” of its 150 nationals from Sudan.
Sweden has sent 150 military personnel to evacuate its diplomats and nationals from Sudan, the defense ministry said.
Arab states
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that 436 Sudanese citizens were evacuated by land “in coordination with the Sudanese authorities” after the evacuation of 177 soldiers last week.
Saudi Arabia, which led the first successful evacuation last Saturday, announced the evacuation by sea of 91 of its citizens, as well as 66 of those from 12 other countries.
Jordan said Saturday it has begun evacuating some 300 Jordanians.
Meanwhile, Baghdad announced on Sunday “the evacuation of 14 Iraqis from Khartoum to a secure location in the Port Sudan area,” confirming that efforts are continuing to evacuate others after it indicated on Saturday that the Iraqi embassy staff had left Khartoum.
The Lebanese Foreign Ministry announced that 52 people were evacuated at dawn from Port Sudan aboard a Saudi naval ship to Jeddah.
The Libyan embassy in Khartoum said Friday it had evacuated 83 Libyans from Khartoum and transported them to Port Sudan.
Tunisia sent a plane on Monday morning, while a number of its citizens have already left on Saudi ships.
African States
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said some 800,000 South Sudanese refugees who fled to Sudan to escape the war in their country are about to return on their own.
“Chad is sending planes to bring home 438 of its nationals who left Khartoum by bus to Port Sudan, according to the government.”
Britain, Norway and Switzerland
The United Kingdom has confirmed that it is doing everything it can to evacuate its citizens from Sudan at a time when a number of them say they feel “left to their fate.”
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has previously defended the decision to prioritize an overnight military operation to evacuate embassy staff and their families, speaking of a “very specific threat to the diplomatic community.”
“Norway announced the evacuation of its diplomats from Khartoum, while Switzerland said it had evacuated seven embassy staff and family members with the help of France.”
Turkey
The evacuation of Turks began at dawn on Sunday with Ankara transporting about 600 of its nationals by road from two neighborhoods in Khartoum and the southern city of Wad Madani.
However, the Turkish embassy in Khartoum announced in a tweet that the evacuation date for Turks in the northern Kafuri district of Khartoum had been postponed “until further notice” due to an explosion that occurred on Sunday morning near a mosque designated as a gathering site.
Asia
Other foreign countries are preparing for evacuations, including South Korea and Japan, after they deploy troops to neighboring countries.
India’s foreign ministry said it had two military aircraft “on standby” in Saudi Arabia and said a navy ship had arrived in Port Sudan, but any evacuation would “depend on the security situation.”
Indonesia said 43 of its nationals had taken refuge in the embassy in Khartoum, and said the government was “taking all necessary measures to evacuate Indonesian nationals from Sudan.”
China announced the evacuation of the first batch of its estimated more than 1,500 citizens in Sudan.
