Sudan: France begins evacuation of embassy staff, citizens of 'European and allied partner' nations

France has started rapid evacuation operation of its citizens and diplomatic staff from violence-hit Sudan, the country’s foreign ministry said Sunday.

It would include citizens of “European and allied partner” nations, the ministry said.

As violence rages on in conflict-hit Sudan, the country's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said early on Sunday the US diplomats and their families have been evacuated in coordination with US forces.

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It also confirmed coordinating with the US forces in the evacuation of the embassy personnel. "The Rapid Support Forces Command has coordinated with the U.S Forces Mission consisting of 6 aircraft, for evacuating diplomats and their families on Sunday morning," the paramilitary group said in a tweet.

According to RSF, a US forces mission with six aircraft evacuated the US officials and their family members.

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A source with knowledge of the situation who asked to remain anonymous confirmed to Reuters that the US military had successfully carried out the evacuation. However, it fell short of providing any other information related to the evacuation.

No comment was immediately made by the Pentagon too in this regard. The armed combat between opposing factions has so far claimed hundreds of lives.

The Sudanese Army said on Saturday, April 22, that additional countries, including the United Kingdom, France, and China, would also be evacuating their diplomats and citizens from the violence-hit nation.

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US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Friday that US troops were positioned near Sudan to ensure safety for the Americans. "We always want to make sure that we're doing prudent planning, which is what we're doing," Austin said.

"We've deployed some forces into the theater to ensure that we provide as many options as possible if we are called on to do something. We haven't been called on to do anything yet."

According to World Health Organization, at least 413 people have died so far in the crossfire and 3,551 are left injured.

The announcement of the evacuation of US embassy personnel comes hours after the foreign ministry of Saudi Arabia said that about 150 people were rescued from Sudan and safely arrived in Jeddah.

Among those who arrived safely were diplomats and officials from several countries, including India. Saudi Arabia's naval forces coordinated the evacuation of these civilians.

As per the Kingdom's foreign ministry, as many as 91 of those evacuated were Saudi citizens and about 66 citizens from 12 other nations.

Moreover, people from Kuwait, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Canada, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Tunisia, and Burkina Faso were also evacuated, as reported by the Hindustan Times.

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Last week, fighting broke out in Sudan between Abdel Fattah al-Burhan's army and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, his former deputy and challenger.

Daglo is in charge of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a formidable paramilitary organisation. Mohamed Hamdan Daglo and Abdel Fattah al-Burhan seized power in a coup in 2021.

According to AFP, heavy gunfire from both sides continued in a number of locations around Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, leaving hundreds of people dead and thousands more injured.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) declared that "we urgently need a humanitarian pause so that wounded and sick civilians can reach hospitals."

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