French Diplomat Shot in Sudan as Tensions Rise; US, Russia, Egypt and Turkey plan evacuations

The two parties to the conflict in Sudan exchanged accusations, on Sunday, of attacking a French evacuation convoy from Khartoum, as both sides announced the injury of a French citizen.

And the Rapid Support Forces announced, on Sunday, that a French citizen was injured in an air strike during the Paris evacuation of its citizens from Sudan, amid armed clashes in the poor African country, which also resulted in the injury of an Egyptian diplomat.

The French Foreign Ministry did not comment on these reports.

The army also accused the Rapid Support Forces of attacking and looting a Qatari convoy heading to Port Sudan. Doha has not issued any statement – so far – about the occurrence of any accident.

In a related context, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, on Sunday, that a member of the Egyptian embassy was “shot” as a result of the clashes between the Rapid Support Forces and the regular army in Sudan.

US military evacuates embassy personnel from Sudan

Google News is trending the title “US military evacuates embassy personnel from Sudan” where several items report that the US military has evacuated embassy personnel from Sudan amidst rising tensions and security threats in the region. The move follows the dissolution of Sudan’s transitional government by the military and the detention of several government officials, including the prime minister. The situation has sparked protests and prompted the US embassy to urge American citizens to avoid unnecessary travel and shelter in place. The US military dispatched aircraft to evacuate embassy personnel and other US citizens from the country. The situation in Sudan remains uncertain, and the US is closely monitoring developments in the region.

Russia evacuates all Russians from Sudan

The head of the Russian diplomatic mission, Andrey Chernovol, informed RIA Novosti that nearly all Russians present in the war zone in Khartoum have been evacuated to the Russian Embassy in Sudan.

Egypt plans evacuation

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ahmed Abu Zeid, said in a statement that Cairo needs a “tight” plan to implement the evacuation of the Egyptian citizens in Sudan, who number more than 10,000 people. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry did not give any details about the incident.

Abu Zeid said, “Countries that have large numbers of citizens exceeding ten thousand, such as the Egyptian case, need a tight, safe and organized planning process to ensure the safety and accuracy of the evacuation process, especially in light of the dangerous escalation in the scale of risks.”

Egypt called on its citizens inside Khartoum to stay in their homes and not leave, while it called on Egyptians outside the capital to go to the country’s diplomatic missions in the cities of Port Sudan and Wadi Halfa.

A Reuters correspondent reported that a live television broadcast showed the continued rise of thick smoke in the sky of the capital, Khartoum, and the neighboring cities of Bahri and Omdurman, with the continued sound of gunfire in some areas.

‘French diplomat shot’ during the evacuation

In addition, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, in a new statement, accused its opponent, the armed forces, of launching air strikes on it during the evacuation of French nationals from their country’s embassy in the capital, Khartoum.

However, the armed forces reported that the French embassy convoy came under fire from the Rapid Support Forces, which led to their return.

In a statement on Sunday, the Sudanese army stated that one of the French was wounded by “a sniper’s bullet, in addition to attacking the mission’s headquarters in Burri.”

The statement read: “The armed forces condemn in the strongest terms this barbaric behavior and inclination to violence, which is a characteristic of the Rapid Support militia before and after its rebellion, in the worst example of the exploitation of power and money in the history of the country.”

On the other hand, the statement of the Rapid Support Forces said, “In full coordination with the French government, the evacuation convoy of French nationals moved this morning from their gathering places at the French embassy and through the city of Bahri to Omdurman. The rapid attack and the plane was shot down.”

France had announced a “rapid evacuation” of its citizens and diplomatic staff from Sudan, according to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sunday.

The French Foreign Ministry pointed out that the process would also include European citizens and others from “allied partner countries”, without providing additional details, according to AFP.

The announcement of the French initiative comes after US President Joe Biden announced on Saturday evening that US forces carried out a mission to evacuate US embassy staff from Khartoum .

In a related context, the Rapid Support Forces described the incident as “a flagrant violation of international and humanitarian law and the declared truce with the testimony and presence of members of the French embassy that documented the incident.”

In light of this alleged attack and in order to preserve the safety of the French nationals, the Rapid Support Forces said that they had to return the convoy to the first starting point.

The Rapid Support Forces reaffirmed their full commitment to the declared armistice and the opening of humanitarian corridors to enable citizens to obtain the necessary services, and to facilitate the movement of foreign nationals to the evacuation areas designated by their governments.

The fierce battles taking place in Sudan since April 15 between the army, led by Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, led by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, have killed more than 420 people and injured 3,700, in addition to the displacement of tens of thousands of people from the battlefields towards other states in Sudan. Or in the direction of Chad and Egypt.

Turkish evacuation from Sudan

In addition, Turkey intends on Sunday to evacuate its citizens from Sudan, as the battles between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces entered its second week, according to what the Turkish Foreign Ministry announced, on Saturday.

“It was decided on April 23 to ensure the return of our citizens who are in conflict areas by land, by passing through a third country,” the ministry said in a statement, without giving further details.

According to the ministry, the evacuation will also include “third-country nationals who have requested assistance.” About 600 Turkish citizens live in Sudan.

The Turks were scheduled to be evacuated from two neighborhoods in Khartoum and Wad Medani, some 200 kilometers to the south, on Sunday morning, local time (0400 GMT).

However, the Turkish embassy in Khartoum announced in a tweet that the date for the evacuation of the Turks in the Kafouri neighborhood, north of Khartoum, had been postponed “until further notice” due to an explosion that occurred, on Sunday morning, near a mosque designated as a gathering site.

Netherlands’ emergency evacuation from Sudan

For his part, Dutch Foreign Minister Wupke Hoekstra, Netherlands, said on Sunday that his country had joined the international efforts to evacuate nationals from Sudan, reported by Reuters .

Er is een operatie van verschillende landen bezig om landgenoten te evacueren uit Sudan. Ook Nederland doet hieraan mee met een team van @MinBZ en @Defensie in Jordanië. Zij gaan hun uiterste best doen om Nederlanders zo snel en veilig mogelijk op te halen. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/6Y9ggV0PSX

— Wopke Hoekstra (@WBHoekstra) April 23, 2023

“An operation by various countries is underway to evacuate compatriots from Sudan. The Netherlands is also participating with a team of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defence in Jordan. They will do their utmost to collect Dutch people as quickly and safely as possible,” Wopke Hoekstra wrote on Twitter.

Wopke further added on Twitter, “We deeply sympathize with the Dutch in Sudan and we will continue our efforts to evacuate people where and when possible.”