Top EU diplomat says ambassador to Sudan still in conflict-torn country
File photo of EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell.
European Union's (EU) top diplomat Josep Borrell said on Monday (April 24) that the EU would keep working for a political settlement to the conflict in Sudan despite the recent evacuation of diplomatic staff and other EU citizens from the country. "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 ahead of a meeting with EU foreign ministers, the news agency Reuters reported.
"It has been a complex operation and it has been a successful operation. First, the staff of the European Union, 21 people, are already in Europe and many more European Union citizens and others are already out of Sudan. I cannot give you a concrete figure, more than 1,000 people for sure. I want to thank France, especially for taking our people out and I want to thank the combined efforts of many countries that took their national(s), but also all nationals that they could pick. So it has been a successful operation, but complex," Borrell added.
Borrell also pointed out that the EU's ambassador to Sudan Aidan O'Hara was still in the country. "The captain is the last one leaving the ship. He is in Sudan but no longer in Khartoum," the top diplomat added.
On April 17, Josep Borrell had said that O'Hara, an Irish diplomat, was attacked in his home in Khartoum.
"A few hours ago, the EU Ambassador in Sudan was assaulted in his own residency," Borrell tweeted and added that the security of diplomatic premises and the staff was a primary responsibility of Sudanese authorities and an obligation under international law.
Speaking to the news agency AFP, EU spokesperson Nabila Massrali said that O'Hara was ok following the assault.
Ireland's deputy premier Micheal Martin also said that O'Hara was "not seriously hurt" but that the assault was "a gross violation of obligations to protect diplomats under the Vienna Convention".
The fighting in Sudan between the army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which started on April 15, is currently under a 72-hour ceasefire. The United States and Saudi Arabia mediated the truce.
The warring factions- Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF agreed to the ceasefire.
More than 400 people have died in the conflict so far and thousands fleeing Sudan. Foreign governments are working to bring their nationals to safety.
(With inputs from agencies)
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