Tens of thousands, including Sudanese and citizens from neighboring countries, have fled in recent days to countries such as Egypt, Chad, and South Sudan, despite the instability and difficult living conditions there. Foreign governments are working to transport their citizens to safety. A convoy of 65 vehicles transported dozens of children alongside hundreds of diplomats and relief workers on an 800-kilometer journey taking 35 hours from the capital Khartoum to Port Sudan on the Red Sea.
The situation is worsening for those who have remained in the third largest African country, where one-third of the population of 46 million needed humanitarian assistance even before the outbreak of violence. UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq stated, "There is a severe shortage of food, clean water, medicines, and fuel, with limited telecommunications coverage and power outages amid soaring prices." He pointed to reports of "looting of humanitarian aid" and noted that "intense fighting in Khartoum and the Blue Nile states, Northern Kordofan, and Darfur is disrupting relief operations."
Relief organizations were among those that withdrew their staff due to attacks. The World Food Programme suspended its food distribution mission, one of the largest food distribution missions in the world. Suleiman Awad, a 43-year-old academic living in Omdurman, who was bombed yesterday, said, "The swift evacuation of Western nationals means that the country is on the verge of collapse. But we expect a greater role from them in supporting stability by pressuring both sides to stop the war."
Several countries, including Canada, France, Poland, Switzerland, and the United States, have suspended operations at their embassies in Sudan until further notice. Fighting subsided at the beginning of the week, which allowed the United States and the United Kingdom to evacuate their embassy staff, leading to a rapid evacuation of hundreds of foreign nationals by other countries, including Gulf states, Russia, Japan, and South Korea.
Evacuations are ongoing. Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan confirmed that "the Kingdom is in contact with its brothers in Sudan to secure safe passages for evacuation operations and is seeking to evacuate more stranded individuals." He stated, "Under the directive of the leadership, and from our duty to Saudi citizens worldwide, around 356 individuals have been evacuated, including 101 Saudi nationals and 255 others from 26 nationalities." He emphasized that "the Kingdom will continue to evacuate citizens of countries that have requested assistance."
Britain indicated that it "can only evacuate holders of British passports and their immediate family members." British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly tweeted on Tuesday that "the British government is coordinating the evacuation of its nationals from Sudan. We have started contacting nationals directly and providing routes for departure out of the country." He revealed that he had "spoken directly and indirectly with leaders of the various factions on the ground in Sudan."
A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed Tuesday that the first British evacuation flight carrying 40 civilians had arrived at Larnaca Airport in Cyprus, adding that two more flights would take off during the night carrying 220 passengers. He stated, "The British government is considering alternative routes for evacuation, including using Port Sudan."
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis mentioned on Tuesday that his country is looking for opportunities to evacuate its remaining citizens in Sudan but acknowledged it "might not be possible to evacuate those with Sudanese nationality." The minister noted from the airport that "Switzerland is cooperating with other Western countries regarding the possibility of repatriating more citizens. It is not very easy because dual nationality holders are not allowed to leave the country because of their Sudanese nationality, and we will see what happens." He added, "Of about 100 Swiss nationals still in the country, most hold Sudanese passports."
Paris also indicated that it "arranged the evacuation of 491 people, including 196 French, with the rest from 36 other nationalities, and a French warship is on its way to Port Sudan to assist in transporting more evacuated individuals." The Japanese Prime Minister confirmed that "all Japanese nationals who wished to be evacuated from Sudan have left." Additionally, the German evacuation mission reported that, as of Tuesday morning, 500 people from over 30 countries, including Belgian, British, Dutch, Jordanian, American, and German nationals, had been brought to safety. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stated: "Efforts are underway to evacuate those remaining Germans."
The Chinese Foreign Ministry reported "the peaceful evacuation of most of our citizens in groups to border ports in neighboring countries," noting "we have not received any reports of Chinese casualties in Sudan so far." A spokesperson for international relations in South Africa stated: "Twelve more of our citizens will leave Sudan today," noting, "Two buses carrying our citizens from Sudan arrived at the Egyptian border. The South African government will cover the costs of their return trips."
Cyprus announced on Tuesday that it had activated a humanitarian rescue mechanism to allow third countries to use its facilities to evacuate foreign nationals from Sudan. Both the German Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Defense stated in a joint statement that Germany would organize its last evacuation flight from Sudan to Jordan on Tuesday evening, with no plans for additional flights from the region at present. They stated: "Partner countries will evacuate the remaining German citizens in Sudan in the coming days."
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly indicated on Tuesday that Canada is assisting both France and Germany in evacuating around 100 Canadians from Sudan, and that Canada is working on evacuating more civilians during the ceasefire for 72 hours. Joly noted that the evacuated Canadians are among the 550 people who requested assistance, adding: "The UAE and Saudi Arabia have also helped in the evacuation. There are 1,700 Canadians in Sudan registered with the Foreign Ministry." She continued: "We will also organize evacuation operations for our citizens and want to take advantage of the ceasefire opportunity to do so, so we are working with the Canadian Armed Forces on this matter."
New Measures to Support Sudanese in Canada
On another note, the Canadian government revealed that it "plans to implement new immigration procedures to support Sudanese citizens holding temporary resident status currently in Canada, who may not be able to return to Sudan due to the rapidly deteriorating situation there." The Canadian government explained in a statement on Monday that "once the new procedures announced by Canadian Immigration Minister Sean Fraser come into effect, Sudanese citizens will be able to apply for extensions to their residency in Canada, allowing them to continue studying, working, or visiting their families in the country without any fees." It also indicated that it "will waive passport and permanent resident travel document fees for Canadian citizens and permanent residents in Sudan who wish to leave."
