Sudan's army on evacuations of diplomats as fighting persists: ‘Likely to begin soon’

Sudan's army chief said that diplomats from Saudi Arabia had already been evacuated from Port Sudan and airlifted back to the kingdom.

The Sudanese army said Saturday it was coordinating efforts to evacuate diplomats from the United States, Britain, China and France out of the country on military airplanes, as fighting persisted in the capital, including at its main airport.

Smoke rises over the city as army and paramilitaries clash in power struggle, in Khartoum, Sudan, April 15. (via REUTERS)

The military said that army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan had spoken to leaders of various countries requesting safe evacuations of their citizens and diplomats from Sudan, which has been roiled by bloody fighting for the past week. Countries have struggled to repatriate their citizens amid deadly clashes that have killed over 400 people so far. With Sudan's main international airport closed, foreign countries have ordered their citizens to simply shelter in place until they can figure out evacuation plans.

Burhan said that diplomats from Saudi Arabia had already been evacuated from Port Sudan and airlifted back to the kingdom. He said that Jordan's diplomats would soon be evacuated in the same way.