Sudan unrest LIVE | US looking for ways to resume diplomatic presence in Sudan: Biden

The United States is looking at how to help US citizens wishing to leave Sudan amid the ongoing violence, while exploring ways to resume a diplomatic presence in the country, said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Speaking at a news conference at the State Department, Blinken declined to say how many American citizens are known to be in Sudan, but said "dozens" have expressed an interest in leaving. Many of the Americans there were dual citizens, he added.

As of Monday, over 400 individuals were evacuated from Sudan by four airplanes from the German air force. According to Annalena Baerbock, the German Foreign Minister, more than 300 individuals, including citizens from Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Britain, Jordan, and the United States, were already flown out from an airfield near Khartoum.

Baerbock added that there are ongoing efforts to get the remaining German citizens out of the country, including by sea, but did not provide any further information.

Furthermore, Boris Pistorius, the German Defence Minister, said that another plane was in the air and would bring the total number of evacuees to more than 400 upon landing in Germany later on Monday.

Israel has proposed hosting ceasefire talks between rival Sudanese leaders, following "very promising" progress in mediation efforts led by a senior Israeli official.

"Since fighting erupted in the country, Israel has been operating in various channels to reach a ceasefire, and the progress over the past few days in discussions with the sides is very promising," Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said in a statement.

Cohen said he hoped that working to achieve calm in Sudan "would allow for the signing of a historic peace agreement".

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that Sudan "on the edge of the abyss" after 10 days of brutal fighting between rival forces.

He further cautioned that the violence in Sudan, which is already one of the world's poorest countries, and has a history of military coups "could engulf the whole region and beyond".

"We must all do everything within our power to pull Sudan back from the edge of the abyss," he said, once again calling for a ceasefire.

The neighbouring South Sudan has received some 10,000 refugees from the conflict-hit Sudan said officials in South Sudan's Renk County, on Monday.

County commissioner Kak Padiet told Reuters, that at least 6,500 crossed the border on Saturday and another 3,000 on Sunday while more people were arriving on Monday. 

Notably, Sudan was home to 800,000 South Sudanese refugees who fled the long-running conflicts there.

The report by Reuters citing army commander in Renk, Dau Aturjong said that at least three-quarters of the arrivals are South Sudanese while the rest are Sudanese, Eritrean, Kenyan, Ugandan and Somali.

Amid the ongoing fighting in Sudan as most countries are scrambling to evacuate their citizens. The United Nations, on Monday, said their head of mission Volker Perthes will remain in Khartoum. 

Around 700 UN staff, aid workers, diplomats and their families had reached Port Sudan for evacuation, said the UN, in a statement. 

It added, some personnel including Perthes "will remain in Sudan and will continue to work towards a resolution to the current crisis and returning to the UN mandated tasks". 

Sudan's neighbouring Chad will evacuate 438 of its citizens from conflict-torn country busing them from Khartoum to Port Sudan on the Red Sea then flying them home, said the Chadian government spokesman Aziz Mahamat Saleh, on Twitter, on Monday (April 24).

Foreign Minister Mahamat Saleh Annadif told AFP that the total number of Chadians living in Sudan was not known. However, among those to be extracted from the country, 300 students as well as 120 Chadians in need of medical care, as well as "around 30" soldiers who were at Sudanese training schools. 

In an interview, on Monday (April 24) White House spokesman John Kirby said the United States is positioning naval assets to assist any Americans leaving Sudan but no major US evacuation will take place. 

"We are still looking at options. We've got military assets still in the region nearby should they be needed, but this is not the time to be conducting some sort of mass operation," Kirby told MSNBC in an interview.

He added, several dozen Americans were travelling overland in a United Nations-led convoy to Port Sudan.

"We're going to be positioning naval assets in the Red Sea off of Port Sudan in case they're going to be needed to help Americans who want to leave," said the White House spokesperson during the interview.

The European Union is committed to working towards a political settlement in Sudan despite the recent evacuation of diplomatic staff and other EU citizens from the country, the bloc’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said on Monday. “We have to continue pushing for a political settlement. We cannot afford that Sudan implodes because it would send shockwaves throughout the whole of Africa,” Borrell said before a meeting with EU foreign ministers.

Several countries, including Gulf states and Russia, were trying to get citizens out of Sudan on Monday. There is also a growing exodus to Sudan's neighbours, including 10,000 people who fled to South Sudan despite chronic instability there. Internet connectivity was cut on Monday, website Netblocks reported.

For the evacuation of its citizens, India had already positioned two heavy-lift military transport aircraft in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah and a naval ship at a key port in violence-hit Sudan. The government had said on Friday that it was focusing on the safety of over 3,000 Indian citizens presently located throughout Sudan.

France is closing its embassy in Sudan,  the foreign affairs ministry said Monday. The ministry said that the French mission in Khartoum will be shut "until further notice" due to the clashes between the army and paramilitary forces. It added that the embassy will no longer serve as a rallying point for foreigners trying to leave Sudan.

Seventy-two people evacuated from Sudan landed in Spain's Torrejon de Ardoz Air Base near Madrid on Monday after being ferried in a Spanish military plane. Of the 72 rescued, 34 were Spanish nationals including diplomatic personnel. Citizens of other EU and Latin American countries were also in the plane, the Spanish Foreign Minister said. Around 200 members of Spanish Armed Forces took part in the operation, the Defence Ministry said.

France says closing Sudan embassy until further notice

China said on Monday that it has started evacuating its citizens out of Sudan as violence between rival military factions continues unabated. The unrest in Sudan has triggered a humanitarian crisis and killed 420 people till now. Speaking at a press briefing in Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that China is working with embassies of neighbouring countries to coordinate the operation and that the first batch of its citizens have been evacuated.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the embassy in Sudan once again remind Chinese citizens to pay close attention to the notices issued by the embassy, to report personal information in a timely manner, and to keep in constant communication," said Mao.