On Sunday, April 23, France and other countries began evacuating their nationals from Sudan, after the departure of American diplomats, while bloody fighting between the army and paramilitary forces has been raging for more than a week.
The violence, which took place mainly in Khartoum and Darfur (west), resulted in more than 420 deaths and 3,700 injuries, according to the World Health Organization.
sequel after announcement
• A conflict in the making for weeks
For weeks, 45 million Sudanese watched with concern the widening rift between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his second in command, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, he said. “Hamidti”Head of the Rapid Support Forces. The FSR brings together thousands of ex-Janjaweed, those Arab militia recruited by dictator Omar al-Bashir to implement a scorched earth policy in Darfur (west).
Why Sudan is facing a military coup?
In October 2021, the two generals joined forces to oust the civilians with whom they had shared power since the fall of Omar al-Bashir in 2019. But the breaches in that union quickly became apparent: Hemedti repeatedly denounced the decision.” Loss “ from a reversal “Old system” Al-Bashir said.
• Violation of the cease-fire on the occasion of Eid
Conflict broke out on 15 April. In Khartoum, army airstrikes and paramilitary artillery fire have already devastated or forced closure 72% of hospitals In combat zones, according to the Doctors Syndicate.
In the streets, lampposts lie on the ground, burnt-out shops are still smoking. Here, a bank is destroyed. There, in spite of everything, a mechanic tries to keep his shop open in case one of the few passers-by needs his services.
sequel after announcement
Separately, on Friday, the army and the Rapid Support Forces announced a three-day ceasefire for Eid al-Fitr, the end-of-Ramadan holiday. But the two rivals immediately accused each other of violating the truce.
From Burma to Sudan, great gains for the putschists
While the two sides are also engaged in a media war, it is impossible to know who controls the country’s airports and what their condition is after they have been the scene of fierce fighting since the first day of the conflict.
This week, Eid al-Fitr had a bitter taste for the people of Khartoum. This holiday is usually celebrated With pastries and gifts for childrenbut this year they are Gunshots and the smell of deathOne of them says Sami Al-Nour.
Cessation of operations by most humanitarian organizations will only exacerbate the situation. Experts say the conflict now threatens to gain territory beyond Sudan’s borders.
sequel after announcement
They have displaced tens of thousands of people to other states in Sudan, or to Chad and Egypt, while several countries are mobilizing to evacuate their citizens.
• The evacuation of France, the United States and Italy, its nationals
France announced on Sunday that it has started Hexagon ‘Quick evacuation’ of its subjects and diplomatic staff. Europeans and people from “Allied Partner Countries” Also supported.
US President Joe Biden had announced earlier that the military had done so “I carried out an operation to remove US government employees from Khartoum”. a “a little less than a hundred” A senior State Department official, John Bass, said people including several foreign diplomats were evacuated during a helicopter operation. But not other American nationals, who may number several hundred in Sudan, whose evacuation is not planned ” currently “.
Italy also indicated that it would try to evacuate its nationals on Sunday, as did Turkey and other countries.
sequel after announcement
According to pictorial images collected by Agence France-Presse, dozens of United Nations vehicles left the capital on Sunday, as did many buses heading to Port Sudan, in the east of the country. It was not immediately known who was on board the plane.
For researcher Hamid Khalafallah “Demanding safe passage for the evacuation of foreign nationals without at the same time demanding an end to the war would be appalling.”. “International actors will have less leverage when you leave the country: do everything you can to leave safely but don’t leave Sudanese behind unprotected.”pleads this specialist in Sudan.
