Several countries including Britain, Italy and China have announced efforts to evacuate their citizens from Sudan, where 10 days of urban fighting have left hundreds dead.
Humanitarian crisis looms
General Abdel Fattah Burhan, head of the Sudanese armed forces, and General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, leader of the RSF paramilitary group, are both seeking control of the African nation. The conflict erupted two years after the two generals’ forces jointly staged a military coup that derailed Sudan’s transition to democracy.
However, the two forces failed in negotiations to unite and form a civilian government after the overthrow of former President Omar al-Bashir. Violence suddenly erupted between the two forces on April 15, 2023, causing a humanitarian crisis and killing at least 420 people.
According to United Nations (UN) estimates, about 12 million of Sudan's 46 million people live in the capital Khartoum. Nearly 16 million people, or one-third of the country's population, are in need of humanitarian aid, including about 11.7 million people facing severe food insecurity.
Fighting in Sudan has forced most hospitals to close, and electricity and water supplies to be cut. The killing of aid workers, including three from the World Food Programme (WFP), has forced the WFP to suspend its operations in Sudan.
People are now hoping for at least a ceasefire so they can stock up on essential food and medicine or move to safer areas.
In the latest development, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on April 24, rival factions in Sudan agreed to implement a nationwide ceasefire for 72 hours after 48 hours of intense negotiations.
Countries rush to evacuate citizens
Along with millions of Sudanese without access to essential services and trapped in their homes, thousands of foreign diplomats, aid workers, students and their families have been trapped in the war zone since last week.
The main airport in the capital Khartoum has become a flashpoint, hit hard by heavy bombing by the two warring factions. Artillery fire has made travel in and out of one of Africa’s largest cities unsafe. Diplomats have been targeted. As of April 24, at least five aid workers have been killed.
Two evacuation convoys, one carrying Qatari embassy staff and another carrying French citizens, were attacked.
Faced with the complicated developments of the fighting, governments of various countries have urgently implemented plans to evacuate citizens from the capital Khartoum.
In the first wave of evacuations, more than 150 people from various countries have reached safety in Saudi Arabia. On April 23, the US military evacuated about 100 US Embassy staff in the capital Khartoum with the support of Djibouti, Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia. A day later, White House spokesman John Kirby said the US was deploying additional naval forces in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan, about 850 km from Khartoum, to assist in bringing US citizens home from Sudan, but the evacuation would not be on a large scale.
On the same day, France and Germany announced that they had evacuated about 700 people without providing details of their nationalities. Recently, Egypt announced that it had brought 436 of its citizens home safely by road.
Jordan said four of its planes had flown 343 people, including Jordanians and Palestinians, Iraqis, Syrians and Germans, out of Sudan. Several countries sent military planes from Djibouti to evacuate people from the capital.
Indonesia said more than 500 of its citizens have so far been evacuated to the city of Port Sudan and are awaiting transfer to the city of Jeddah (Saudi Arabia).
Meanwhile, China, Denmark, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Sweden also said they had launched emergency evacuation operations. Japan said it was preparing to send an evacuation group out of Djibouti.
According to Mr. Josep Borrell - the top official in charge of foreign policy of the European Union (EU), over the weekend, over 1,000 citizens of this bloc were evacuated from Sudan.
Smoke rises from fighting in Khartoum, Sudan on April 20, 2023. Photo: AFP/VNA
Conflict beyond borders
A power struggle between two top generals in a Sudan that has been unstable for years could raise the risk of a wider conflict that draws in outside powers.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on April 24 that the risk of escalating conflict in the North African country could “engulf the entire region.”
Marina Peter, founder of the Sudan and South Sudan Forum, told DW (Germany) on April 23: "Sudan is at the center of continuous crises and conflicts. When a conflict breaks out in this country, countries in the region such as Egypt, Libya, Chad, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and even across the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia, are always affected."
According to Alex De Waal, an expert on Sudan at Tufts University (Massachusetts, USA), this conflict is just the beginning of a civil war. “If not quickly ended, the conflict will become a multi-level game with a number of regional and international actors pursuing their own interests, mobilizing money, weapons supplies and possibly troops or proxy forces,” expert Alex commented.
Sudan is Africa’s third-largest country and sits on the Nile River. But it’s not easy sharing water with regional heavyweights Egypt and Ethiopia. While Egypt relies on the Nile to feed its more than 100 million people, Ethiopia is building a massive dam upstream, making Cairo and Khartoum nervous.
Egypt has close ties with the Sudanese military, which is seen as an ally against Ethiopia. Although Cairo has been in contact with both sides in Sudan to push for a ceasefire, it is clear that the country will not “sit idly by” if the Sudanese army faces defeat.
In addition to the two countries above, Sudan borders five other countries, including Libya, Chad, the Central African Republic, Eritrea and South Sudan. Nearly all of these five countries are mired in internal conflicts, with various rebel groups operating along the borders.
“What is happening in Sudan will not just have an impact within Sudan,” said Alan Boswell of the International Crisis Group. “Chad and South Sudan are at risk of immediate spillover effects. The longer the fighting continues, the more likely we are to see major outside intervention.”
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