The US Embassy in Sudan stated that the situation in Khartoum was “too dangerous” for a “coordinated evacuation”

MADRID, April 22 (EUROPEAN PRESS) –

Saudi Arabia has announced this Saturday the evacuation of 91 nationals and 66 foreign nationals from Sudan while the Jordanian government has also confirmed the start of preparations to relocate 300 of its citizens from the African country despite the ongoing chaotic situation. the capital, Khartoum, where a ceasefire was announced yesterday by the Army and paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has been fractured in recent hours.

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on its Twitter account, has announced the “safe return” of these refugees, including diplomats and international officials. The foreigners being evacuated were from Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Tunisia, Pakistan, India, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Canada and Burkina Faso.

The spokesman for Jordanian Foreign Affairs, Sinan Majali, also announced on Saturday the start of the process of evacuating 300 Jordanians in an operation in which Saudi Arabia and the Emirates are cooperating, reports Jordan’s official Petra news agency.

Also in the last few hours, the South Korean government has confirmed the arrival of a C-130J transport aircraft in Djibouti, which is carrying around 50 people, including medical and security personnel, ready to carry out an evacuation mission at any time possible.

This process took place amidst a very chaotic situation in the Sudanese capital. The commander of the Sudanese Army, Abdelfatá al Burhan, informed the Al Hadath network this morning that the international airport is still in dispute with the RSF and local journalists present in the capital have spent hours reporting sporadic shelling in the capital and twin cities in the North. . Khartoum and Omdurman.

Al Burhan has assured that countries such as China, France or the UK will begin their evacuations in the next few hours after receiving security guarantees from the Army, but so far none of these countries have made an official statement.

In this regard, UK government sources have indicated to the Press Association and DPA that the country’s prime minister, Rishi Sunak, had held an emergency meeting with his security committee in the last hours, although the evacuation of his citizens was “still not imminent”.

In fact, the Saudi evacuation process consisted of transferring the nationals to Port Sudan, where they had left the country by boat, the same route that, according to Al Burhan himself, the citizens of the Hashemite kingdom would have taken. The port is at the easternmost tip of the country, 840 kilometers from the capital.

US CONFIRMS FIGHTING, LOOSING AND HOME ATTACKS IN KHARTOUM

The United States Embassy in Sudan has warned this afternoon that the situation continues to be extremely dangerous after confirming “sclashes and gunfire” in the capital, as well as “reports of assault, looting and home invasions.”

For this reason, and “given the uncertain security situation in Khartoum and the closure of the airport,” the US Embassy believes it is currently impossible to conduct a coordinated evacuation operation from Khartoum.

The information available to Washington about other international convoys heading to Port Sudan is “incomplete”, the embassy said, warning that any US nationals joining this delegation “will do so at their own risk.” .