The Sudanese army said Saturday it was coordinating efforts to evacuate diplomats from the United States, Britain, China and France out of the country on military airplanes, as fighting persisted in the capital, including at its main airport.
The military said that army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan had spoken to leaders of various countries requesting safe evacuations of their citizens and diplomats from Sudan.
The German foreign minister says a ceasefire in Sudan and the evacuation of German citizens is a “top priority”, adding that the developing situation was “unclear” at the moment.
Annalena Baerbock made the remarks at a joint news conference with her Spanish counterpart José Manuel Albares in Berlin.
Fighting continued to frustrate efforts by European and other nations to evacuate their nationals from Sudan. Baerbock said a “low three-digit” number of Germans had registered their presence in the country.
“For security reasons, we are currently unable to announce any further details, especially because we have not yet reached the ceasefire as of today,” she added.
Albares said that Spain has air force planes ready to go in Djibouti, to pick up some 60 Spanish citizens, plus around 20 more people from other European countries and Latin America.
The European countries’ plans follow a similar suit to that of the US and South Korea. Washington and Seoul have both deployed military troops and aircraft to evacuate stranded American and South Korean nationals.
Meanwhile, Sudan’s top general on Friday declared the military’s commitment to a civilian-led government, an apparent bid for international support, even as his forces battle a rival paramilitary group in a bloody power struggle that has derailed hopes for the country’s democratic transition.
Fighting in Sudan has drastically escalated between the country’s army and its rival paramilitary force, the Rapid Support Forces (or RSF), putting the nation at risk of collapse.
The fighting, which began as Sudan attempted to transition to democracy, has already killed hundreds of people and left millions trapped in urban areas, sheltering from gunfire, explosions and looters.