Evacuations of foreign nationals from Sudan continue as fighting enters 3rd week

By Gulsum Incekaya, Omer Erdem, and Ahmed Satti​​​​​​​

ISTANBUL (AA) – A growing number of countries continue to evacuate their diplomats and citizens in the third week of fighting between the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan's capital of Khartoum and its surrounding areas.

So far more than 50 countries, including Türkiye, China, Russia, the US, UK, France, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, and Egypt, have evacuated thousands of diplomats and citizens by land, air, and sea amid the war that broke out on April 15 and a temporary cease-fire between the two warring government forces.

Regarding the ongoing violence in Sudan, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Türkiye has evacuated at least 2,061 people, including 1,763 of its nationals and 298 from 22 different countries, from Sudan amid weeks of fighting between the army and the paramilitary force.

Türkiye's Embassy in Khartoum would also be temporarily relocated to Port Sudan, a city and port on the Red Sea in eastern Sudan, from which evacuations would take place, Cavusoglu added.

The following are specifics about international evacuations from Sudan:

- Azerbaijan

The Foreign Ministry announced that 26 Azerbaijani citizens in Sudan had been evacuated with the assistance of Türkiye.

- US

State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said on Monday that three convoys led by US government have arrived in Port Sudan since Saturday, assisting in the evacuation of over 700 individuals, their family members, and nationals from partner countries.

The US is working "tirelessly and around the clock" to ensure that those seeking US assistance in Sudan are aware of all evacuation options, Patel said during a daily press briefing.

- Russia

Moscow announced that it had evacuated more than 200 diplomats and citizens from Russia and former Soviet republics, as well as some other states, as the conflict in Sudan entered its third week, according to the Russian Zvezda TV channel.

- France

The Foreign Ministry announced in late April that 936 people had been evacuated, including French nationals, British, Americans, Canadians, Ethiopians, Dutch, Italians, and Swedes.

- UK

While it is estimated that approximately 4,000 people with British passports are in Sudan, the UK made its first evacuation flight on the 10th day of the conflict.

The Foreign Office said 21 flights were made from Wadi Sayyidna Air Base in the north of Khartoum as of April 25.

A total of 1,888 people were evacuated, it said, adding that they will continue to provide consular services to citizens traveling to Port Sudan and neighboring countries.

- Germany

The German army announced on Twitter that 311 people have been evacuated so far.

An army spokesman said the planes carried both German and foreign citizens.

- Canada

Canadian evacuation flights from Sudan have ended, Defense Minister Anita Anand announced on Sunday, adding that the military has evacuated over 400 Canadians in the last two weeks.

- Italy

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced on April 24 that they had airlifted all of their citizens, and some foreigners, who wished to leave Sudan.

About 150 people, including 107 Italians, were evacuated from Khartoum to Djibouti and then flown to Italy by Air Force aircraft.

- The Netherland

The Foreign Ministry announced the evacuation of 150 Dutch citizens. The Netherlands conducted the eighth and final evacuation flight from Sudan to Jordan on Saturday, the ministry said.

- Belgium

More than 1,000 Europeans, including eight Belgians, were evacuated, Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib said. About 30 Belgians remained in the country because they do not want to leave, he added.

- Spain

The country evacuated 100 people by plane, including 30 Spaniards and 70 citizens of Argentina, Colombia, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Poland, Mexico, and Venezuela, the Spanish government said in a statement issued on April 23.

- Sweden

The Swedish Armed Forces had completed the rescue operations in Sudan, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced in late April.

Kristersson said at a press conference that a total of 160 people, including 60 Swedes, were evacuated by the forces.

- Switzerland

The country closed its embassy in Khartoum for security reasons, and its Swiss staff and their families were evacuated and are safe, Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said on April 21.

- Japan

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said all Japanese citizens who wanted to leave Sudan have been evacuated.

Japan safely evacuated 45 people , including eight from different countries, on April 24, Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa said in a late April statement.

The ministry also announced that the embassy in Sudan would be temporarily closed.

- South Korea

A military aircraft carrying 28 South Korean and many Japanese citizens landed at the Seoul Air Base located in the city of Seongnam, according to the South Korean president’s office.

- China

The Foreign Ministry said 1,300 Chinese citizens left Sudan, some on warships and others on different means.

- India

The Foreign Ministry announced that 2,400 Indian citizens have been evacuated since the conflict in Sudan began.

They will continue to evacuate other citizens who have become stranded in the country, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said.

- Pakistan

The Foreign Ministry announced that all of Pakistani citizens who were stranded in Sudan had been evacuated.

The ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that more than 1,000 Pakistanis had been evacuated from Sudan and that evacuation operations had been completed.

- Saudi Arabia

The kingdom administration announced on Saturday that 4,879 people, including Saudi nationals, stranded in Sudan were evacuated.

According to state news agency SPA, 12 Saudis and 1,866 other nationals were evacuated by ship from Sudan to Jeddah.

- Qatar

All Qatari citizens were evacuated from Sudan, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said in a statement on April 23, without specifying the number of people.

- Kuwait

The Foreign Ministry said that 25 Kuwaiti citizens had been evacuated with the assistance of Saudi Arabia.

Kuwaitis returned home after being evacuated to the Saudi city of Jeddah.

- Palestine

Iyad al-Buzm, a spokesman for the Hamas-run Interior Ministry told Anadolu that 250 Palestinians have been evacuated.

- Jordan

Seven Royal Air Force aircraft evacuated 576 people from Port Sudan International Airport, according to the Foreign Ministry.

It said 423 of the evacuees were Jordanians, while 153 were Egyptians, Palestinians, Syrians, Iraqis, Lebanese, Yemenis, Tunisians, Americans, British, Japanese, Canadians, Germans, Dutch, Norwegians, Italians, Irish, and Portuguese.

- Iraq

The Foreign Ministry said on Monday that about 300 Iraqi citizens had been evacuated.

- Iran

Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kenani said 65 Iranian citizens have been evacuated since the conflict began in Sudan.

- Lebanon

Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said Lebanon has completed the citizens’ evacuation first of phase.

Habib said 44 people, including 12 Palestinians, were brought to the country from Sudan.

The Foreign Ministry separately said a convoy carrying 51 Lebanese citizens has reached the Port Sudan by land, and they will first cross to Saudi Arabia by sea before flying to Lebanon.

- Mauritania

The country announced that it had evacuated 120 Mauritanian citizens who were stranded in the middle of the conflict, by sea, with the support of Saudi Arabia.

- Yemen

The Yemeni government has evacuated about 200 people via Port Sudan. Yemenis evacuated by a Saudi Arabian ship were first taken to Jeddah and then flown to Yemen.

- Egypt

Over 5,300 citizens have been evacuated since the conflict began, according to the Foreign Ministry.

On Friday, another 2,648 people were brought to the country as part of the evacuation efforts.

According to the ministry, there are over 10,000 Egyptians living in Sudan.

- Libya

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that 105 Libyan citizens were evacuated from Port Sudan by a Saudi Arabian ship on April 25.

It was reported that the evacuated Libyans were flown back to their home countries.

- Morocco

The number of Moroccans evacuated has risen to 447, following the last operation in which 154 citizens were evacuated, the Foreign Ministry said.

- Tunisia

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that as part of the evacuation operation launched on April 24, a plane carrying 46 people, including the Tunisian Ambassador, landed at Carthage International Airport.

- Algeria

Diplomats and citizens evacuated from Sudan arrived in the country on an Algerian Air Force plane from Port Sudan, according to the Foreign Ministry.

It added that 13 Palestinians and 22 Syrians were among those evacuated.

- UAE

The Foreign Ministry announced that it has successfully evacuated nationals from 16 different countries, including all of UAE nationals.

- Somalia

The Foreign Ministry that it has evacuated 150 citizens since the conflict began.

- Djibouti

Foreign Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf announced that Djibouti has evacuated its diplomatic staff and citizens from Sudan, including Ambassador Isa Khayri.

- Kenya

Over 500 Kenyans have been evacuated since evacuation operations began, while over 2,000 others remain stranded in the conflict.

- Tanzania

The government announced that 206 Tanzanians had already returned from Sudan.

- Uganda

Uganda's Ambassador to Khartoum Rashid Yahya Ssemuddu said in late April that 300 Ugandans were evacuated via Ethiopia and returned home.

More than 50 Ugandans remain in Sudan, and evacuation efforts are ongoing.

- Ghana

The Foreign Ministry announced the successful evacuation of 82 citizens via Ethiopia.

- Chad

More than 200 people have been evacuated from Sudan to Chad, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

- Nigeria

The government is working to evacuate about 3,000 Nigerian citizens in Sudan.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) announced on Wednesday that the first convoy of 13 buses had crossed from Khartoum to Egypt.

- South Africa

The government said so far 61 of total 77 South African citizens have been evacuated.

According to Sudanese Health Ministry statements, more than 550 people have been killed and over 5,000 have been injured since the start of the clashes.

A disagreement has been fomenting in recent months between the army and the paramilitary force over RSF integration into the armed forces, which is a key condition of Sudan's transition agreement with political groups.

Sudan has been without a functioning government since Oct. 2021, when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s transitional government and declared a state of emergency in a move decried by political forces as a “coup.”

Sudan's transitional period, which began in August 2019 following the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir, was set to end with elections in early 2024.