A general view shows smoke billowing in Khartoum on April 20, 2023, as fighting between the army and paramilitary forces led by rival generals rages on. - Explosions and gunfire resounded in Sudan's capital as fighting between the forces of two rival generals showed no signs of abating ahead of festivities marking the end of Ramadan.
As the conflict between competing parties continues in Sudan, the army has agreed to evacuate foreign nationals and diplomats.
Sudan's army stated Saturday, April 22, that the US, UK, France, and China are going to evacuate their diplomatic workers and citizens "within the coming hours" from the nation devastated by conflict. Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry also said it was evacuating residents and foreigners from Sudan.
Rescuing Foreign Citizens, Diplomats
According to The Washington Post, the Sudanese military issued a statement saying that Army leader Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has agreed to help with and ensure the safety of the evacuation of foreign people from the city of Khartoum in response to requests from many nations.
It was reported that military planes from the US, Britain, France, and China would soon begin evacuating diplomatic personnel and nationalities from Khartoum.
In addition, the Sudanese army statement said that the Saudi diplomatic delegation had already left by aircraft from a Red Sea port city and that the Jordanians would also depart via that route. Earlier, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry indicated plans were underway to evacuate Saudi citizens and other foreign people from Sudan.
CNBC said that Jordan has begun evacuating its residents in collaboration with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, according to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sinan al-Majali's televised remarks. He estimated that 300 Jordanians were involved.
It was unclear how many individuals would be evacuated or whether or not certain states would just be evacuating diplomatic officials.
Countries such as the US, South Korea, Japan, and the Netherlands have sent aircraft and soldiers to Sudan's neighbors in recent days in preparation for the possible extrication of diplomatic officials and other nationals.
Notably, the State Department earlier suggested it would not be evacuating all American citizens from Sudan and instead recommended that those who are already in the country stay indoors and not go to the embassy.
Current Sudan Crisis
Airports have become battlegrounds, and evacuations have been halted due to fighting between the Sudan government's military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Street violence has shut down hospitals, halted United Nations (UN) activities, and raised worries of a regional spillover as Burhan has been involved in a power battle with the leader of the RSF, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti.
The United Nations estimates that 10,000 to 20,000 people have fled to Chad. It is a neighboring country in western Africa that is already sheltering hundreds of thousands of refugees, The Guardian reported.
Despite reporting occasional clashes on Friday, April 21, and accusing each other of breaches, the warring groups announced they had agreed to a temporary ceasefire for the Muslim festival Eid al-Fitr this weekend.
Previous temporary ceasefire measures have failed to hold as shooting and shelling have forced civilians to stay indoors for days on end despite diminishing supplies.
