dpa
Khartoum
As foreign governments continued to evacuate their nationals from embattled Sudan on Monday, tens of thousands of Sudanese fled overland to neighbouring countries, risking their lives.“Civilians are fleeing areas affected by fighting, including to Chad, Egypt and South Sudan,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Monday. The office said that thousands of refugees were also gathering at the border with Ethiopia.
Fighting continued in Khartoum, while there were also airstrikes on the city of Omdurman, which borders Khartoum to the north, and in the suburb of Kalakla, according to reports and witnesses. Several residential buildings collapsed in Kalakla, videos and reports showed. Residents searched for people trapped beneath the rubble. There was also reportedly more fighting in the West Darfur region.
A ceasefire agreed by the conflict parties for the Eid al-Fitr celebrations to mark the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which has only been partially upheld since Friday evening, is due to end on Monday evening, after which there could be a renewed intensification of fighting. Sudan’s two most powerful generals and their units have been fighting for supremacy for over a week, leaving hundreds dead.
De facto president Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, also commander-in-chief of the army, is fighting with the military against his deputy Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, the leader of the powerful paramilitary group RSF.The two men have led the gold and oil-rich country of some 46 million people since a military coup in 2021. According to the UN, at least 427 people have been killed and 3,700 injured since the conflict began. The actual number of victims, however, is believed to be much higher.The supply situation in the capital Khartoum has deteriorated dramatically. Residents struggle with a lack of water and food, and power cuts are increasingly hampering communication. Looting is also a major threat.Internet access is also highly restricted, with connections nationwide at only 2% of their normal level, according to British network organization Netblocks. It was unclear why this was the case, and the army accused the RSF of sabotage.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry offered to host a negotiating summit to end the violence, a ministry spokesman said on Monday evening. “If there is a way Israel can help end the war and violence in the country, we would be very happy to do so,” Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said.Israel is already in contact with senior figures on both sides and is trying to bring about negotiations. Progress in the talks in recent days has been “promising,” the ministry said. Meanwhile, organizations and governments continued their evacuation efforts on Monday.More than 1,000 people have been evacuated from Sudan, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said, adding this might rise to 1,200 people or even 1,500 by the end of the day.He commended the “incredible mobilization of states,” saying efforts had exceeded his expectations.
Earlier, Borrell thanked countries for evacuating their citizens “but all nationals that they could.” Borrell also stressed the importance of international pressure to end the fighting. The implosion of Sudan would “send shock waves” around Africa, he said. Later, French President Emmanuel Macron said France had evacuated more than 400 people from Sudan, including 150 from France. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz thanked the German armed forces, the Bundeswehr, for their evacuation efforts. “It is a dangerous mission, but it is important to bring citizens of our country and other countries to safety,” Scholz said. Later, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Defence Minister Boris Pistorius appealed to the warring parties to extend their ceasefire.The UN mission in Sudan said it would continue its work in the country despite the evacuation of many of its staff. More than 700 UN staff and people working for international NGOs and embassies reached the port city of Port Sudan and were to be evacuated from there, the UN said.
The UN said a “small number” of international staff, including the UN Special Representative in Sudan, Volker Perthes, would continue to work from Sudan. Perthes said, “We are determined to stay in Sudan and support the Sudanese people in any way we can. We will do everything we can to save lives while protecting the safety of our personnel.” Following the temporary closure of the US embassy in Khartoum, the US government is exploring other options for a diplomatic presence there.“We’re taking further steps to support Americans and exploring options to return a diplomatic and consular presence to Sudan as soon as possible,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Washington on Monday. However, Blinken stressed, “The conditions are very challenging.” He could, therefore not give any timetable.
