European countries evacuating citizens from Sudan

By Anadolu Staff

LONDON (AA) - European countries have been busy working to evacuate their remaining nationals from conflict-torn Sudan.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said that a total of 23 citizens have been evacuated so far from the northeast African country.

He said the evacuated Greek nationals are in good health and arrived in the coastal country of Djibouti with the assistance of France and Italy.

Meanwhile, the UK government is being criticized for leaving British citizens in Sudan while only evacuating diplomatic staff and families.

The Foreign Office said "top priority remains the safety of British nationals," said Javid Abdelmoneim, a doctor on Twitter, noting that his father "declined family invite to travel overland to Egypt, skipped another family convoy to Port Sudan."

"Window of opportunity for my dad to leave Sudan safely is closing, a matter of hours now, as my last two family groups plan their departure today," he added.

Another British citizen that remained in Sudan told the BBC that they do not have assistance from the government: "We had to basically go private, we've had absolutely nothing but nonsense from the government, and not even nonsense. We've had nothing."

William said his Sudanese employer arranged a bus for him and some other British nationals to leave the capital Khartoum for neighboring Egypt.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Sunday that UK armed forces have completed the evacuation of British diplomats and their families from Sudan.

"We are continuing to pursue every avenue to end the bloodshed in Sudan and ensure the safety of British nationals remaining in the country," he added on Twitter.

- Spain, Balkan countries

A Spanish Air Force plane carrying 72 people evacuating from Sudan landed at Torrejon de Ardoz air base in Madrid on Monday.

Of the group, 34 are Spanish nationals and the remaining 38 made up of citizens of Portugal, Poland, Italy, Ireland, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela, and Sudan.

In a statement, the Spanish government said evacuation will also take place for Spanish citizens who voluntarily stayed in the conflict-torn country.

Meanwhile, 62 Spanish soldiers who went to Djibouti to assist evacuation efforts in Sudan are still in the region, it added.

The Western Balkan countries of Croatia and Serbia announced that they would evacuate their citizens from Sudan.

Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman said that there are about 100 of their citizens in Sudan.

"After the conflicts started, 21 of our citizens requested evacuation,'' said Radman.

Croatia is carrying out evacuation procedures with French Embassy in Cairo.

The Serbian Foreign Ministry announced that 11 of its citizens will be evacuated from Sudan.

Serbia is carrying out the operation jointly with the United Arab Emirates, the UN, and Türkiye.

The statement also noted that nearly 100 Serbian citizens decided to stay in Sudan.

France, Türkiye, and Germany also announced the beginning of evacuation of their citizens. EU diplomats are also among the evacuated Europeans.

At least 413 people have been killed and 3,551 others injured since April 15, when a conflict broke out in the capital Khartoum and other cities between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF, which the military declared a rebel group.