NE NEWS SERVICE
KHARTOUM/NEW DELHI, APR 24
India has put two C-130J military transport aircraft on standby in Jeddah while an Indian Navy ship reached a key port in the region as part of the government’s plans to evacuate stranded Indians from violence-hit Sudan.
Giving out the details, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said contingency plans for the evacuation of Indians have been put in place but any movement on the ground would depend on the security situation.
- International governments race to rescue diplomats, citizens from Sudan
- The Sudanese airspace currently remained closed for all foreign aircraft and overland movement also has risks and logistical challenges
It said the security situation in Sudan continues to be “volatile” with reports of fierce fighting coming from various locations in the country’s capital Khartoum.
Ministry of External Affairs says that the Government of India is making all out efforts to ensure safety and security of Indians stranded in #Sudan. @MEAIndia says that it is closely monitoring the complex and evolving security situation in Sudan.
The Ministry is… pic.twitter.com/1naQZHRgAc
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) April 23, 2023
The MEA said India is making all-out efforts to ensure the safety and security of Indians stranded in Sudan. “We are closely monitoring the complex and evolving security situation in Sudan,” it said.
“We are also coordinating closely with various partners for the safe movement of those Indians who are stranded in Sudan and would like to be evacuated,” the MEA said.
Apart from the Sudanese authorities, the MEA and the Indian embassy in Sudan are also in regular touch with the UN, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and the US among others.
“As part of our preparations and in order to move swiftly, the Government of India is pursuing multiple options,” the MEA said.
“Two Indian Air Force C-130J are currently positioned on standby in Jeddah. And, INS Sumedha has reached Port Sudan,” it said. “Contingency plans are in place but any movement on the ground would depend on the security situation, which continues to be volatile with reports of fierce fighting at various locations in Khartoum,” the MEA said.
It said the Sudanese airspace currently remained closed for all foreign aircraft and overland movement also has risks and logistical challenges.
International governments race to rescue diplomats, citizens from Sudan
Khartoum: The US military airlifted embassy officials out of Sudan on Sunday and international governments raced to evacuate their diplomatic staff and citizens trapped in the capital as rival generals battled for control of Africa’s third-largest country for a ninth day.
BREAKING: 70 American diplomats and their families have just been evacuated from the US embassy in Khartoum, Sudan. Details:
– A U.S Forces Mission consisting of 6 aircraft were deployed for the evacuation.
– This came a few hours after the U.S. Embassy in Sudan issued a… pic.twitter.com/6Dd94tBXLZ
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) April 23, 2023
Fighting raged in Omdurman, the city across the Nile from Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, residents reported. The violence came despite a declared truce that was to coincide with the three-day Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.
“We did not see such a truce,” said Amin al-Tayed from his home near state television headquarters in Omdurman. He said heavy gunfire and thundering explosions rocked the city. “The battles did not stop,” he said.
#Sudan🇸🇩 Fighting erupted between the Sudan Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in Khartoum capital of the country. pic.twitter.com/FUCc0SnNBs
— Kevin Muruta (@KevinMuruta) April 15, 2023
Thick black smoke filled the sky over Khartoum’s airport. The paramilitary group battling the Sudanese armed forces claimed the military unleashed airstrikes on the upscale neighbourhood of Kafouri, north of Khartoum. There was no immediate comment from the army.
After a week of bloody battles that hindered rescue efforts, US special forces swiftly evacuated some 70 US embassy staffers from Khartoum to an undisclosed location in Ethiopia early Sunday.
Although American officials said it was still too dangerous to carry out a government-coordinated mass evacuation of private citizens, other countries scrambled to evacuate their citizens and diplomats.
France, Greece and other European countries said Sunday they were organizing evacuations for embassy employees and nationals, along with some citizens of allied countries. French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anne-Claire Legendre said France was undertaking the operation with the help of European partners.
The Greek foreign minister said the country had dispatched aircraft and special forces to its ally, Egypt, in preparation for an evacuation of 120 Greek and Cypriot nationals from Khartoum. Most of them have sought shelter in recent days at a Greek Orthodox cathedral in the capital, Nikos Dendias said.
The Netherlands sent two air force Hercules C-130 planes and an Airbus A330 to Jordan ahead of a possible rescue mission. “We deeply sympathise with the Dutch in Sudan and will make every effort to evacuate people where and when possible,” said Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren.
Italy has dispatched military jets to the Gulf of Aden nation of Djibouti to prepare for the evacuation of 140 Italian nationals in Sudan, many of whom have already taken refuge in the embassy. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the ministry’s crisis unit was in touch with stranded citizens.
The fighting between the Sudanese armed forces and the powerful paramilitary group, known as the Rapid Support Forces, has targeted and paralysed the country’s main international airport, reducing a number of civilian aircraft to ruins and gutting at least one runway. Other airports across the country have also been knocked out of operation.
Overland travel across areas contested by the warring parties has proven dangerous. Khartoum is some some 840 kilometres (520 miles) from Port Sudan on the Red Sea.
But some countries have pressed ahead with the journey. Saudi Arabia on Saturday said the kingdom successfully evacuated 157 people, including 91 Saudi nationals and citizens of other countries.
Saudi state TV released footage of a large convoy of Saudis and other foreign nationals travelling by car and bus from Khartoum to Port Sudan, where a navy ship then ferried the evacuees across the Red Sea to the Saudi port of Jeddah.
The power struggle between the Sudanese military, led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, has dealt a harsh blow to Sudan’s heady hopes for a democratic transition.
More than 400 people, including 264 civilians, have been killed and more than 3,500 have been wounded in the fighting.
Hospitals say they are struggling to cope. Many dead and wounded have been stranded by the fighting, according to the Sudan Doctors’ Syndicate that monitors casualties, suggesting the death toll is probably far higher than what is publicly known.
The conflict has left millions of Sudanese stranded at home — hiding from explosions, gunfire and looting — without adequate electricity, food or water.
On Sunday, the country experienced a “near-total collapse” of internet connection and phone lines nationwide, according to NetBlocks, an internet monitoring service.
“It’s possible that infrastructure has been damaged or sabotaged,” Alp Toker, director of Netblocks, said in an interview. “This will have a major effect on residents’ ability to stay safe and will impact the evacuation programs that are ongoing.” Thousands of Sudanese have fled the combat in Khartoum and other hotspots, according to UN agencies. At least 20,000 people have abandoned their homes in the western region of Darfur for neighbouring Chad.
War is not new to Darfur, where ethnically motivated violence has killed as many as 300,000 people since 2003. But Sudan is not used to such heavy fighting in its capital.
“The capital has become a ghost city,” said Atiya Abdalla Atiya, secretary of the Doctors’ Syndicate. “Half of the population have fled and the rest are looking desperately for a way to get out of this hell.” The fighting has also caught civilians — including foreign diplomats — in the crossfire.
Fighters attacked a clearly marked US Embassy convoy last week, and stormed the home of the European Union ambassador to Sudan. Gunfire wounded an Egyptian diplomat in Sudan, spokesman for Egypt’s Foreign Ministry Ahmed Abu Zaid, said Sunday, without offering further details.
The current explosion of violence came after Burhan and Dagalo fell out over a recent internationally brokered deal with democracy activists that was meant to incorporate the RSF into the military and eventually lead to civilian rule.
The rival generals rose to power in the tumultuous aftermath of popular uprisings that led to the ouster of Sudan’s longtime ruler, Omar al-Bashir, in 2019. Two years later, they joined forces to seize power in a coup that ousted the civilian leaders and opened a troubled new chapter in the country’s history.
