Escape from Sudan in the middle of civil war. A convoy of French citizens was allegedly attacked during the evacuation by land, a citizen French was injured. This was reported by Reuters, while Sudanese regular troops and RSF paramilitaries blamed each other for the action. No comment from Paris, which announced the evacuation of compatriots and diplomatic personnel from Sudan.
An emergency plan is also ready to evacuate Italians who are still in Sudan. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni held a meeting with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, Undersecretary Mantovano, Chief of Defence Staff Cavo Dragone and General Figliuolo, head of the Joint Top Operational Command, and the heads of the Foreign Ministry's Crisis Unit and the Security Services.
"Our compatriots in Sudan were contacted, even during the night, by the Crisis Unit of the ministry. Called one by one: they are all well and will reach our embassy. I cannot tell you more for security reasons," said the head of the Foreign Ministry as he arrived at the Salone del Mobile in Milan. "It is a very complicated situation for Italians living in Khartoum and the fear is that the two parties in conflict for control of power in the country have no intention of sitting at a table," Tajani explained.
Italian diplomacy has been working since the beginning of the resumption of the conflict that began on April 15, to repatriate the Italians - about 150 - who are in Khartoum. Yesterday "19 who were on a cruise, were secured and transferred to Egypt".
Italy, like other countries and the Sudanese people themselves fleeing, is organizing the evacuation of compatriots with military aircraft to Djibouti. It is still unclear from which airport foreign citizens can depart: "None of the airports are active. They are still under fire," said Manila, which has hundreds of citizens trapped in Sudan. Sources arriving from diplomats on the ground speak of an "extremely worrying" situation. In Khartoum "the safe passage of foreign nationals is still under negotiation, the army could use the process to improve its image," writes Bloomberg. "No one is able to establish a safe ground route for civilians to escape"
Karthoum airport itself appears to be under the control of RFS rebels. General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, reiterated that "all airports in Sudan are under military control, with the exception of the airports of Khartoum and Nyala, I will continue to defend the unity of the country," al-Hadath tweeted. A Reuters video shows the emergency situation with General Dagalo's RSF paramilitary militias controlling the streets amid heavy artillery shells.
During the night, the staff of the American embassy in Khartoum, and their families, were evacuated by helicopters. Yesterday the same embassy had considered it too dangerous to entrust the departure of its staff to columns by land. The paramilitaries of the RFS declared that they had coordinated with the Americans to facilitate their departure.
Then President Joe Biden's announcement "the military evacuation of U.S. embassy staff in Sudan has been completed" and he returned to call for an end to "inconceivable" violence. Due to the civil war, Washington closed the US mission in Khartoum indefinitely. Staff members would be flown to an undisclosed location in Ethiopia. U.S. troops conducted the operation as fighting in Sudan, which left more than 600 dead, puts the nation at risk of collapse and could have consequences far beyond its borders.