Tag: sudan

Morning Digest: May 6, 2023

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Army and Assam Rifles personnel during a flag march in violence-hit areas amid tribal groups’ protest over court order on Scheduled Tribe status, in Imphal, on May 5, 2023.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Central security forces flood crisis-hit Manipur

The Centre has “taken over” control of security in violence-hit Manipur on Friday by deploying 12 companies, comprising around 1,000 personnel, of the Border Security Force (BSF) and airlifting anti-riot vehicles to the northeastern State, even as stray incidents of violence and looting were reported from parts of the State. However, the Ministry of Home Affairs has denied promulgating Article 355.

Pakistan Foreign Minister a promoter, spokesperson of terror industry: Jaishankar

Calling Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari a “promoter, justifier and spokesperson” of terrorism, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Friday hit out at Islamabad for its continued support to terror groups. Speaking at the end of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s Council For Foreign Ministers (SCO-CFM) that he had chaired, Mr. Jaishankar said Indians felt “outrage” over a incident on Friday, referring to the firing in Rajouri in which five Indian soldiers were killed. The bilateral spat between both countries came even as the SCO Foreign Ministers’ meeting agreed to strengthen cooperation in a number of areas, including economic and technological spheres.

Sudan’s warring sides send envoys for talks in Saudi Arabia

Sudan’s two warring generals sent their envoys on May 5 to Saudi Arabia for talks aimed at firming up a shaky cease-fire after three weeks of fierce fighting that has killed hundreds and pushed the African country to the brink of collapse, three Sudanese officials said. According to the three — two senior military officials and one from their paramilitary rival — the talks will begin in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah on Saturday.

Fresh firefight takes place at Rajouri encounter site in Jammu: Army

A fresh firefight between the security forces and hiding militants took place in the Kandi Forest area in Jammu division’s Rajouri on May 6. The Army said the security forces engaged the hiding militants in a firefight in the Kandi Forest area in Jammu’s Rajouri around 1:15 a.m. On Friday morning, the hiding militants detonated explosives and killed five soldiers immediately after contact was established with them during the combing operation.

Operation Kaveri wraps up with 3,862 Indians now home from Sudan

India on Friday wrapped up ‘Operation Kaveri’, launched to rescue its nationals stranded in crisis-hit Sudan, with the transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force making its final flight to bring 47 passengers home. India launched Operation Kaveri on April 24 to evacuate its nationals from Sudan, which has witnessed deadly fighting between the country’s army and a paramilitary group.

Border situation is ‘stable’, China’s Foreign Minister tells EAM Jaishankar

The situation along the India-China border is “generally stable” and both sides should “draw lessons from history”, visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang told External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in talks on Thursday. Mr. Qin and other Chinese officials have described the border situation as being “stable” and moving to what they have called normalised management, and asked India to place the issue in an “appropriate” position in the relationship.

India at vanguard of digital revolution, its financial inclusion journey can be example for others: United Nations officials

India is at the vanguard of the digital revolution and its financial inclusion journey can be an example for other developing countries to look at, senior United Nations (UN) officials and economists have said. The discussion, organised by the Permanent Mission of India to the UN, aimed at bringing to centre stage the role of financial inclusion in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

All demands of wrestlers met, let police finish its probe: Sports Minister Anurag Thakur

Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on May 5 said that all demands of the wrestlers sitting on dharna in Delhi have been met and that they should let an unbiased probe be completed by Delhi Police. “It is my request to all the sportspersons who are agitating there that whatever their demands were, they were met. Court has also given its directions and they should let an unbiased probe be completed,” Mr. Thakur told reporters in New Delhi.

COVID-19 no longer a global emergency, says WHO

The World Health Organization said on May 5 that COVID-19 no longer qualifies as a global emergency, marking a symbolic end to the devastating coronavirus pandemic that triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies worldwide and killed at least 7 million people worldwide. “It’s with great hope that I declare COVID-19 over as a global health emergency,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. “That does not mean COVID-19 is over as a global health threat.”

PM Modi accepts French invite for Bastille Day celebration in Paris

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accepted the invite from French President Emmanuel Macron to be the Guest of Honour at the Bastille Day Parade in Paris on July 14, in Paris, the Ministry of External Affairs announced on Friday. Mr. Modi’s presence in Paris is being described as a gesture of special significance as India and France are celebrating the 25 th anniversary of the strategic partnership, launched in 1998.

As Ukrainian attacks pick up inside Russia, the war is coming home for Putin

For months after the Ukraine war began, which Russia still calls a “special military operation”, many ordinary Russians, particularly those whose families were spared from the mobilisation, saw the conflict as something that’s happening far away from home. Not any more: with drones attacking the Kremlin, the seat of power in the Russian capital, just a few days before the Second World War Victory Day celebrations, the war is coming home for Russians.

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Morning Digest: May 3, 2023

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Security forces patrol after British police arrested a man outside Buckingham Palace for throwing what they believe were shotgun cartridges, in London, Britain on May 2, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Man detained after ‘shotgun cartridges’ thrown into Buckingham Palace grounds

Days ahead of King Charles’ May 6 coronation, Buckingham Palace was temporarily cordoned off after a man approached the palace and allegedly threw objects — thought to be shotgun cartridges — into the palace grounds.

India criticises USCIRF report, calls it misrepresentation of facts

India on May 2 categorically rejected as “biased” and “motivated” a report by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) that alleged “severe violations” of religious freedom in the country. In its annual report on religious freedom, the USCIRF asked the U.S. State Department to designate India as a “country of particular concern” on the status of religious freedom 

Bilkis Bano case convicts playing for time: Supreme Court judge K.M. Joseph

Supreme Court judge Justice K.M. Joseph said that it was “more than obvious” that the men released early from life imprisonment for gangraping Bilkis Bano and murdering her family during the 2002 Gujarat riots were raising a maze of procedural objections in successive court hearings to avoid his Bench. The oral remark came after the courtroom rang with submissions made by the lawyers for the 11 released convicts, who claimed that they were not served notice of the case.

Ahead of G20 meet in Kashmir, security agencies brace for potential ‘fidayeen’ attack, drone and vehicle-borne threats

Elaborate security measures were finalised on Tuesday for the upcoming meeting of delegates from G20 nations in Jammu and Kashmir’s summer capital Srinagar from May 22 to counter the potential threats of ‘fidayeen’ attacks and threats posed by the use of vehicles and drones by militants. The National Security Guard (NSG) teams will be deployed for counter-’fidayeen’ attacks along with the police’s Special Operation Groups, and also to counter drone-borne threats at all venues.

Centre extends time to submit joint options for higher PF pension till June 26

The Centre has extended the time to submit joint options to claim higher provident fund pension till June 26. The deadline to submit the applications was on May 3. The EPFO said more than 12 lakh applications have been received till date. It added that the timeline is being extended to facilitate and provide ample opportunity to the pensioners and members so as to to ease out any difficulty being faced by them.

Nine years after ban, coal mining to resume in Meghalaya, says CM Sangma

Coal mining in Meghalaya, banned since April 2014, is likely to be resumed legally by July. At an election rally on May 1, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said the Centre had approved mining leases for four persons, thus paving the way for scientific mining in the State. Despite the ban on rat-hole coal mining, the fossil fuel has been extracted and transported illegally for years in Meghalaya.

China, Russia, Pakistan Foreign Ministers to attend May 4 SCO meet in Goa

The Foreign Ministers of China and Russia will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Goa on May 4 and 5, on key visits expected to lay the groundwork for Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin to travel to India in early July. The China and Russia led Eurasian security grouping also includes four Central Asian nations — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan — while India and Pakistan were added to the group in 2017.

India temporarily relocates embassy from Khartoum to Port Sudan

India has decided to temporarily relocate its embassy from the violence-hit Sudanese capital city of Khartoum to Port Sudan in view of the prevailing security situation in the African country. India has been operating military aircraft and naval ships from Port Sudan to evacuate its citizens from the African country.

AAP used hawala, cash route to funnel liquor policy kickbacks for Goa polls: ED

The Enforcement Directorate has accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of “using” a part of the ₹100 crore kickbacks allegedly received from the ‘south group’ liquor lobby to meet its expenditure for the Goa Assembly poll campaign in 2022. The accusation has been made in the agency’s supplementary charge sheet filed in the Delhi Excise policy-linked money laundering case.

Ukraine Minister apologises for Goddess Kali tweet, says ‘we respect unique Indian culture’

Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova, who recently visited India, on May 2 expressed “regrets” over the depiction of Goddess Kali in a “distorted manner” by the Defence Ministry and apologised for the act, saying her country and its people respect “unique Indian culture”. The Ukraine Defence Ministry’s tweet, which has now been deleted, was captioned “Work of art” with an image of Goddess Kali superimposed over a blast fume.

Do not want to talk about audio clips, says T.N. CM Stalin

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Tuesday, May 2, 2023 said he was not ready to talk about the recent audio clippings, which the opposition claimed purportedly contained the voice of State Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan implicating the ruling party in corruption. On Monday, Mr Rajan, had met the Chief Minister during which he is believed to have explained his stand on the issue.

Supreme Court refuses to entertain plea seeking stay on release of movie ‘The Kerala Story’

The Supreme Court on May 2 refused to entertain a plea seeking a stay on the release of the movie The Kerala Story on grounds that its the “worst kind of hate speech” and an “audio-visual propaganda”. The Bench said, “There are varieties of hate speeches. This film has got certification and has been cleared by the board. It’s not like a person getting on the podium and starts giving uncontrolled speech. If you want to challenge the release of the movie, you should challenge the certification and through appropriate forum”.

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Sudan’s two warring generals agree to seven-day truce ‘in principle’

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Warring generals in Sudan have agreed “in principle” to a seven-day ceasefire, the government of neighbouring South Sudan said Tuesday, after regional envoys denounced repeated violations of previous truces.

Diplomatic efforts have intensified to end more than two weeks of war in Africa‘s third-largest country as warnings multiply about a “catastrophic” humanitarian crisis.

More than 430,000 people have already been forced to flee their homes, the United Nations said.

Hundreds of others have been killed and thousands wounded. 

Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy turned rival, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), “have agreed in principle for a seven-day truce from May 4th to 11th,” the South Sudanese foreign ministry in Juba said in a statement.

 


 

Multiple truces agreed since fighting began on April 15 have been repeatedly violated, including one announced by South Sudan early in the war.

Witnesses reported renewed air strikes and anti-aircraft fire in Khartoum on Tuesday.

The repeated violations sparked criticism earlier Tuesday at a meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, of the Extended Mechanism on the Sudan Crisis which brought together African, Arab, UN and other representatives.

The two generals have agreed to truces – the latest one on Sunday – yet “continue fighting and shelling the city”, said Ismail Wais, of the northeast African bloc IGAD which includes Sudan and South Sudan.

‘No longer safe’

“Our priority today is to have the ceasefire prolonged and respected, then to ensure humanitarian assistance,” African Union Commission chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat said, opening the meeting.

The later agreement of the week-long truce came in a phone conversation South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir had with the warring parties as part of IGAD’s initiative for a pause in fighting, Juba’s foreign ministry said.

“We’ll have to see whether this is accepted by all the parties and whether it’s implemented by the forces on the ground,” said Farhan Haq, the UN chief’s deputy spokesman.

Kenyan President William Ruto said earlier that the conflict had reached “catastrophic levels” and finding ways to provide humanitarian relief “with or without a ceasefire” was imperative.

The UN refugee agency said more than 100,000 people were estimated to have fled to Sudan’s neighbours.

Despite the dire humanitarian needs, on Tuesday the UN said its 2023 aid appeal for Sudan was $1.5 billion short.

But some relief has been arriving in the country.


© france24

 

After the World Health Organization (WHO) shipped in six containers of medical equipment, including supplies for treating trauma injuries, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) on Tuesday said it delivered 10 tonnes of supplies to a hospital in Khartoum as teams prepared to “launch emergency response activities.”

Only 16 percent of Khartoum’s hospitals are now fully functional, according to the UN.

A Sudanese physician, Howida Elhassan, posted a social media video of medical staff struggling to cope with a surge of wounded civilians at a hospital in Khartoum’s East Nile neighbourhood.

Blood appeared to stain the floor of the crowded facility where patients, one who seemed to grimace in pain with blood on his shirt, lay or sat on cots.

“On days when there are battles in the area, we receive between 30 to 40 injured people,” in addition to regular cases, Elhassan said. “Other medical staff cannot reach us because roads are no longer safe. We are understaffed and lack equipment.”

In addition to the more than 500 killed in the fighting, 250 are estimated to be missing, said a spokesman for the Mafqud (Missing) online project.

Munira Edwin turned to the project when her brother Babiker disappeared on the first day of fighting. Mafqud called her back nearly two weeks later.

“He had been found dead with two bullets” in his body, she said, struggling to hold back tears.

It was too late on Monday, as well, for the victim who several men carried into a Khartoum hospital, covered in a grey cloth after a van was riddled with bullets. The back seat was soaked in blood. Luggage rested on the roof, as if the passengers had been trying to flee.

At risk of getting caught in the crossfire, some civilians still venture out. Long queues formed Tuesday at petrol stations offering the scarce commodity, as well as at banks and ATMs.

Ahead of the South Sudanese announcement, UN head of mission Volker Perthes said discussions involving Saudi and US mediators were underway with the rival generals to firm up a truce.

Burhan’s envoy, Dafaallah al-Haj, was in Cairo where he met senior Egyptian and Arab League officials.

Haj told a press conference that he hoped the Arab League, African Union, Saudi Arabia and the US could play a role in such talks toward a more lasting truce.

While diplomats try to stop the fighting, foreign governments have scrambled to evacuate their citizens, thousands of whom have been brought to safety by air or sea in operations that are now winding down.

Darfur exodus

Russia’s armed forces said on Tuesday they were evacuating more than 200 people from Sudan on four military transport planes.

Saudi Arabia said it transported another 220 people to Jeddah.

Beyond Khartoum, lawlessness has engulfed the Darfur region from where more than 70 percent of the 330,000 people displaced inside Sudan by the fighting have fled, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Darfur is still scarred by a war that erupted in 2003 when then-strongman Omar al-Bashir unleashed the Janjaweed militia, mainly recruited from Arab pastoralist tribes, against ethnic minority rebels.The Janjaweed – whose actions led to war crimes charges against Bashir and others – later evolved into the RSF.

(AFP)



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Morning Digest: May 1, 2023

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File photo of smoke rising from burning aircraft inside Khartoum Airport during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum, Sudan
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Sudan Army, rival extend truce, despite ongoing clashes

Sudan’s Army and its rival paramilitary said on April 30 they will extend a humanitarian cease-fire a further 72 hours. The decision follows international pressure to allow the safe passage of civilians and aid but the shaky truce has not so far stopped the clashes. In statements, both sides accused the other of violations. The agreement has deescalated the fighting in some areas but violence continues to push civilians to flee. Aid groups have also struggled to get badly needed supplies into the country.

In a first, Raj Bhavans to start celebrating Statehood days

Around 30 Raj Bhavans will hold programmes to mark the Statehood day of Maharashtra and Gujarat on May 1 in what is a new initiative as part of the government’s thrust on celebrating the country’s cultural diversity and different traditions. Official sources said different Raj Bhavans will host people of Maharashtrian and Gujarati origins living in the respective State and also organise different programmes to highlight the cultural riches and cuisines of the two western States. 

Suspected Islamic State leader killed in Syria by Turkish intelligence services: Erdogan

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that Turkish intelligence forces killed Islamic State leader Abu Hussein al-Qurashi in Syria. Mr. Erdogan said the intelligence organization had pursued Qurashi for a long time. Syrian local and security sources said the raid took place in the northern Syrian town of Jandaris, which is controlled by Turkey-backed rebel groups and was one of the worst-affected in the Feb. 6 earthquake that hit both Turkey and Syria.

Ukraine’s Defence Ministry deletes tweet allegedly depicting Goddess Kali following online outrage

A tweet posted by Ukraine’s Defence Ministry purportedly showing an image of Goddess Kali over a blast fume triggered online outrage following which the post was deleted. The Twitter handle @DefenceU posted the image with the caption “Work of Art”, triggering angry reactions from many Indian Twitter users who accused the Ukrainian Defence Ministry of insensitivity.

Ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls, CPI(M) to look at State-specific strategy 

At the end of the three-day meeting of the Central Committee, the Communist Party of India (Marxist)’s highest decision-making body, the party in a statement said the main task before the 2024 general elections is to “isolate and defeat” the BJP. And to achieve this, the party will work with other secular Opposition parties but electoral arrangements must be State-specific, as the political situation varies with each State. 

Nitish Kumar sidesteps query on fighting 2024 Lok Sabha poll

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on April 30 sidestepped a query about the possibility of contesting the next year’s Lok Sabha poll from his pocket borough Nalanda. Sitting MP Kaushalendra Kumar, who is serving his third consecutive term, had on Saturday said he was willing to give up the seat if his mentor wished to enter the fray. “Just leave it. Why do you worry ( chhodiye na aap log kahe chinta karte hain)”, said the longest-serving CM of the State, as he walked past the posse of reporters with a smirk on his face.

I’m fine with being a snake garland on the necks of people who are like Lord Shiva: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi again chose to respond to the Congress’ jibe of poisonous snake against him by saying that the snake was a garland on the neck of Lord Shiva and that he would accept being a snake on the necks of the people of the country, whom he considered Lord Shiva.  It may be noted that AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge had described Mr. Modi as a poisonous snake recently, triggering a controversy. 

Congress dubs 100th episode of Modi’s radio programme as maun ki baat

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi completed the 100th episode of Mann Ki Baat on April 30, the Congress took a dig at Mr. Modi for being “ maun” [silent] on key issues such as China, Adani, increasing economic inequalities and the wrestlers’ protest. The official Twitter handle of the party also targeted the Prime Minister for being silent on key issues such as alleged Chinese aggression, unemployment, price rise, among others.

Inadequate space for cheetahs in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park: former Wildlife Institute of India official

Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park (KNP), which has seen the death of two cheetahs in less than a month, has “inadequate space” for these felines brought from Africa, a former official of the Wildlife Institute of India has claimed. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), which is overseeing the ambitious cheetah reintroduction project in the country, has called a meeting in New Delhi on Monday in the wake of the death of two cheetahs out of the 20 felines translocated to KNP from Namibia and South Africa over the last eight months, an official said.

The Kerala Story an attempt to spread hate propaganda, says Pinarayi Vijayan

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday said the upcoming movie The Kerala Story was a product of the Sangh Parivar’s “factory of lies”. He said legal action would be taken against those involving themselves in antisocial activities. The statement comes at a time when the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), the Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) and their youth organisations have all opposed the movie in a united voice.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to hand over patrol vessel, landing craft to Maldives

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will hand over a fast patrol vessel and a landing craft to the Maldives as India’s “gift” during his visit to the island nation from May 1 to 3. During his visit, Mr. Singh will call on Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and hold talks with Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid and Defence Minister Mariya Didi.

Char Dham pilgrims stopped at Srinagar due to bad weather

Char Dham yatra has been stopped at Srinagar as a precautionary measure due to bad weather at Kedarnath and Badrinath, police said on April 30. On Saturday, Uttarakhand Director General of Police Ashok Kumar issued instructions in view of rain and snowfall during the Char Dham yatra and directed officials to be extra vigilant.

Tim David, Suryakumar Yadav fire Mumbai Indians to six-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals

Talented youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal’s maiden century (124) went in vain as Tim David struck three successive sixes in the final over as Mumbai Indians pulled off a stunning six-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals in their Indian Premier League here on Sunday.

F1 2023 | Sergio Perez wins Azerbaijan GP in Red Bull 1-2

Sergio Pérez took advantage of a fortunately timed safety car to beat his teammate Max Verstappen to the win in the Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday, adding it to the sprint he won the day before, as Red Bull kept up its winning start to 2023. Verstappen started second behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc but swept past him on the long start-finish straight at the end of lap 3, the first lap on which drivers were allowed to use the DRS overtake assist system on the rear wing.

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Mass exodus from Sudan as deadly fighting enters third week

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Hundreds of thousands of Sudanese have fled Khartoum and the Darfur region to seek refuge in neighbouring countries amid ongoing deadly clashes between Sudan’s army and the rival paramilitary group the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). But the violence that grips the country is making it hard for them to leave.

Hundreds of thousands of people have fled Sudan in the past two weeks, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. But thousands remain trapped in the country.

Violent battles between the forces of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former number two Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary RSF, have rocked the country since April 15. The deadly clashes have sparked a mass exodus of civilians, the scale of which is still hard to pin down.

Tens of thousands of people from the western Darfur region, which is especially volatile, have crossed the border into Chad. Others are trying to reach South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Egypt or Ethiopia, raising fears of vast displacement from a country with 45 million inhabitants, one of the largest in Africa.

Fruitless truces

Despite the latest three-day ceasefire set to expire at midnight, army forces clashed with paramilitaries on Sunday in Sudan’s capital Khartoum. Fighting was reported around the army headquarters in the centre of the city, with the Sudanese army also carrying out air strikes in the capital’s twin city of Omdurman across the Nile River.

Although countries like Saudi Arabia, France and the United States have managed to repatriate nationals and diplomats back home in recent days, millions of civilians living in Khartoum are caught up in the chaos gripping the megacity. Without outside help, they face a dilemma: risk their lives on the road or stay cloistered in their homes, where they endure crippling shortages of water and electricity.     

“To leave the city, you have to dodge bombing raids. Roads are no longer safe and armed attacks happen frequently. Travel costs have also quadrupled and there is a gas shortage,” explains Omar*, a Sudanese journalist whose family managed to flee Khartoum on April 26.

“In the east of the country where I live, things are still calm. Some people come here to seek refuge in big cities like Kassala, Al-Qadarif and Port Sudan. Others head towards Ethiopia in the east or Egypt in the north to flee the country.”

 

Map of Sudan and its neighbouring countries © FRANCE 24

 

More than 14,000 Sudanese people and a further 2,000 nationals from other countries have crossed into Egypt since the conflict began, according to the country’s government.

Meanwhile, International Organisation for Migration (IOM) spokesperson Eric Mazago told AFP on Thursday that more than 3,500 people have moved southeast into Ethiopia between April 21 and 25.

A ‘race against the clock’ in Chad

Another hot spot in the Sudan conflict is the western region of Darfur, still scarred by a war that erupted in 2003. Its capital, El Geneina, has seen a surge in attacks on civilians in recent days. 

At least 20,000 people crossed into Chad during the first 10 days of fighting, according to the UNHCR, despite its government closing the border with Sudan at the start of the conflict on April 15.

The country already hosted more than 400,000 Sudanese refugees across 13 camps in local communities, who had fled the 2003 to 2010 genocide.

Border villages in Chad like Koufron, Midjiguilta and Dize Birte have seen the highest influx of displaced people. Humanitarian organisations on the ground are trying to provide emergency aid by supplying water, food, health care and temporary shelter.

We’re in “a race against the clock” said UNHCR deputy representative in Chad Jérôme Merlin, calling on the international community to help. “In two months, maybe less, the rainy season will form large rivers or ‘wadis’, which will make it very difficult to provide aid.”  

‘Premature’ returns to South Sudan

As more and more people seek sanctuary in neighbouring countries, South Sudan is also seeing the arrival of civilians feeling violence. At least 14,000 people have crossed the border, UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo told AFP on Saturday.  

“These people come from different places in Sudan. They have travelled by bus or by their own means of transport,” explains Faith Kasina, a UNHCR representative based in Nairobi who is coordinating the humanitarian response. “They have decided to go back to their home country because they have family there, even though most have left for security reasons,” she says.

Since 2013, South Sudan has been caught in a civil war between President Salva Kiir’s government and a rebellion led by former vice president Riek Machar.

In a statement released on April 26, head of the UNCHR Filippo Grandi expressed his worry that South Sudanese refugees “have been forced to prematurely return home to deep uncertainty”.

“Just a few kilometres away”

As Sudan enters a third week locked in deadly conflict, the long-simmering power struggle between the country’s army and paramilitary RSF group carries on. The rival forces accuse each other of violating the latest ceasefire, mediated by the United States, Saudi Arabia, the African Union and the United Nations on Thursday.    

“There are two distinct situations taking place in Khartoum and El Geneina in Darfur that are preventing Sudanese people from fleeing,” says Claire Nicolet, who leads the Sudan operations for Doctors Without Borders. “It’s very difficult to leave Khartoum, but once outside, the situation gets easier. In Darfur’s capital El Geneina, however, the roads around the city are dangerous. It takes about an hour to get to the border of Sudan from El Geneina, but right now it’s an impossible journey to make.”

The UNHCR team stationed along the Chad border made similar observations, and had expected a much larger influx of refugees to arrive.  

“The majority of Sudanese people who have reached Chad so far came from villages close to the border, just a few kilometres away,” says UNHCR representative Merlin. If there is a lull in the fighting, “we expect a bigger wave of arrivals”, he explains.

Faced with a bloody crisis in the making, the African Union on Thursday called on Sudan’s neighbours and international partners to “facilitate the transit” of civilians fleeing the violence “without hindrance”.

*Name has been changed upon request

This article was translated from the original in French. 

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Morning Digest: April 30, 2023

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365 passengers landed at IGI airport from Sudan under Operation Kaveri, in New Delhi on April 29, 2023
| Photo Credit: ANI

Ahead of Amarnath Yatra, security agencies discuss safeguarding of Kashmir highway

With the Amarnath yatra just two months away, security agencies on Saturday discussed ways and means to tackle threats like vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices in south Kashmir. Officials said securing the national highway, which connects Jammu with the Srinagar and the Amarnath route in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam, remained the focus of the meeting. The threat posed by vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices and other potential militant threats were debated and counter-measures were discussed, they said.

Quarantine facilities being set up for those arriving from Sudan, says Centre

The Indian government is evacuating about 3,000 passengers of Indian Origin from Sudan, and necessary quarantine facilities are being arranged at transit junctures in mission mode for incoming passengers. 1,191 passengers had arrived so far, of which 117 passengers were currently quarantined as they had not been vaccinated against yellow fever. All passengers will be released after 7 days if they remain asymptomatic, it added.

Access to basic supplies restricted at protest site, say wrestlers

Wrestler Bajrang Punia on Friday night took to Instagram to accuse the Delhi Police of restricting supply of electricity and rations. “At the protest site, they (police) have cut off electricity and have barricaded the site, making it difficult for us to access basic necessities like food and water, they even asked us to end our protest as FIRs have been registered against WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh,” Mr. Punia said, in his Instagram video.

ED raid on edutech unicorn Byju’s in Bengaluru under ‘FEMA violations’

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) searched the premises of Think & Learn Private Limited, which runs the online private education portal Byju’s, in Bengaluru, under provisions of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). A statement by the ED revealed that ₹28,000 crore of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the company, and ₹9,754 crore overseas direct investment by the company are under the scanner.

SEBI seeks 6-month extension to complete Adani probe

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on April 29 asked the Supreme Court for six more months to complete its investigation into Hindenburg Research’s damning report accusing the Adani Group of “brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud schemes over the course of decades”. The market regulator said it was probing “12 suspicious transactions” raised in the Hindenburg report.

Government likely to ask addicts to submit for rehabilitation to avoid jail time

As the Union government debates decriminalising consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, it is likely to bring in a policy where addicts and users will have to submit themselves before treatment centres and declare themselves as such in order to escape criminal prosecution. Currently, under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, the consumption of any narcotic drugs or psychotropic substance may attract a jail term of up to one year and/or fines up to ₹20,000.

Centre plans an ‘overhaul’ of its research institutions

The Department of Science and Technology (DST), which is the main source of funds and sustenance for at least 30 autonomous research bodies — some of them of global prestige — is in the middle of a “rationalisation” exercise that involves merging, “disengaging” and even closure of some organisations. The DST exercise is part of a larger project initiated by the Centre to reduce the number of autonomous institutions funded by various Ministries.

Operation Kaveri: Fresh batch of 365 people return home from Sudan

India on April 29 brought back home a fresh batch of 365 people under its mission to evacuate stranded Indians from strife-torn Sudan. The return of the fresh batch of Indians came a day after 754 people arrived in India in two batches under the evacuation mission. The total number of Indians who were brought back home now stands at 1,725, according to official data. The Indians were brought back home from the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah where India set up a transit camp for the evacuees.

100th episode of PM Modi’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’ to be broadcast live in United Nations headquarters

The 100th episode of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s monthly radio programme ‘Mann Ki Baat’ will be broadcast live in the United Nations headquarters in New York. The Consulate General of India in New York, along with community organisations, is also hosting the broadcast of the 100th episode of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ for members of the Indian-American and diaspora community in New Jersey during a special event at 1:30 a.m. Sunday.

PM must break his silence on allegations raised by Satya Pal Malik: Congress

Prime Minister Narendra Modi must break his silence on the allegations raised by former Jammu & Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik regarding the Union government’s negligence that reportedly led to the death of 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in the Pulwama terror attack in 2019, Congress’s national spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said. She said Mr. Modi, the Union government and the BJP were answerable to the families of the martyrs of the Pulwama attack, who were thinking whether their dear ones would be alive today had the government not been “apathetic and negligent”.

L-G Saxena seeks report in connection with Arvind Kejriwal’s residence renovation irregularity rowc

Delhi Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Vinai Kumar Saxena has taken cognisance of media reports on the alleged “gross irregularities” in connection with the renovation of the Delhi Chief Minister’s official residence at 6, Flag Staff House, Civil Lines, which was carried out by the Public Works Department. Earlier this week, the Delhi BJP — while citing purported documents from the Public Works Department — called for the resignation of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the amount spent on renovating his official residence.

Satwik-Chirag become first Indian men’s doubles pair to enter Badminton Asia Championships final

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty became the first Indian men’s doubles pair to enter the final of the Badminton Asia Championships after their opponents retired midway through the semi-final match, here on April 29. They face the eighth-seeded Malaysian pair of Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi, who defeated fourth seeds Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi of Japan 21-6 26-24 in the other semifinal, in the final on Sunday.

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Over 400 civilians dead as rival forces continue to fight over control of Sudan

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Gunfire and heavy artillery fire persisted Saturday in parts of Sudan’s capital Khartoum, residents said, despite the extension of a cease-fire between the country’s two top generals, whose battle for power has killed hundreds and sent thousands fleeing for their lives.

The civilian death toll jumped Saturday to 411 people, according to the Sudan Doctors’ Syndicate, which monitors casualties. The fighting has wounded another 2,023 civilians so far, the group added, although the true toll is expected to be much higher. In the city of Genena, the provincial capital of war-ravaged West Darfur, intensified violence has killed 89 people. Fighters have moved into homes and taken over stores and hospitals as they battle in the densely populated streets, the syndicate said. 

Khartoum, a city of some 5 million people, has been transformed into a front line in the grinding conflict between Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, the commander of Sudan’s military, and Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, who leads the powerful paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces. The outbreak of violence has dashed once-euphoric hopes for a democratic transition in Sudan after a popular uprising helped oust former dictator Omar al-Bashir.

Foreign countries continued to evacuate their citizens while thousands of Sudanese fled across borders. Britain said it was ending its evacuation flights Saturday, after demand for spots on the planes had declined. The United Arab Emirates announced Saturday it had started evacuating its citizens along with nationals of 16 other countries.

Over 50,000 refugees — mostly women and children — have crossed over to Chad, Egypt, South Sudan and the Central African Republic, the United Nations said, raising fears of wider instability in the region. Ethnic fighting and turmoil has scarred South Sudan and the Central African Republic for years while a 2021 coup has derailed Chad’s own democratic transition. 

Those who escape Khartoum face more obstacles on their route to safety. The overland journey to Port Sudan, where ships then evacuate people via the Red Sea, has proven long and risky. Hatim el-Madani, a former journalist, said that paramilitary fighters were stopping refugees at roadblocks outside Khartoum, demanding they hand over their phones and valuables. 

“There’s an outlaw, bandit-like nature to the RSF,” he said, referring to Dagalo’s Rapid Support Forces. “They don’t have a supply line in place. That could get worse in the coming days.” 

Airlifts from the country have also posed challenges, with a Turkish evacuation plane even hit by gunfire outside Khartoum on Friday. 

On Saturday — despite a cease-fire extended under heavy international pressure early Friday — clashes continued around the presidential palace, headquarters of the state broadcaster and a military base in Khartoum, residents said. The battles sent thick columns of black smoke billowing over the city skyline. 

In a few areas near the capital, including in Omdurman, some reported that shops were reopening as the scale of fighting dwindled. But in other areas, terrified residents hunkered down reported explosions thundering around them and fighters ransacking houses. 

Now in its third week, the fighting has left swaths of Khartoum without electricity and running water. The Sudanese Health Ministry put the latest overall death toll at 528, with 4,500 wounded.

Those sheltering at home are running out of food and basic supplies. Residents in the city of Omdurman, west of Khartoum, have been waiting at least three days to get fuel — complicating their escape plans.

The U.N. relief coordinator, Martin Griffiths, said that U.N. offices in Khartoum, as well as the cities of Genena and Nyala in Darfur had been attacked and looted. Genena’s main hospital was also leveled in the fighting, Sudan’s health ministry said.

“This is unacceptable — and prohibited under international law,” Griffiths said. 

Over the past 15 days, the generals have failed to deal a decisive blow to the other in their struggle for control of Africa’s third largest nation. The military has appeared to have the upper hand in the fighting, with its monopoly on air power, but it has been impossible to confirm its claims of advances.

“Soon, the Sudanese state with its well-grounded institutions will rise as victorious, and attempts to hijack our country will be aborted forever,” the Sudanese military said Saturday.

Both sides in the conflict have a long history of human rights abuses. The RSF was born out of the Janjaweed militias, which were accused of widespread atrocities when the government deployed them to put down a rebellion in Sudan’s western Darfur region in the early 2000s.

A unit of Sudan’s armed forces, known as the Central Reserve Police, have been sanctioned by the United Staets for grave human rights violations against Sudan’s pro-democracy protesters. 

Accusations of rape, torture and other abuses against demonstrators carried out by the unit first surfaced in 2021, after Burhan and Dagalo joined forces in a military coup that ousted a civilian government. The Sudanese Interior Ministry confirmed the deployment of the Central Reserve Police in Khartoum on Saturday, posting photos of the fighters riding with heavy machine guns mounted on pickup trucks. 

Former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, who was ousted in the 2021 coup, appealed to the international community from a conference in Nairobi, Kenya, to push for an immediate halt to the conflict. He warned that a full-blown civil war in the strategically located country would have consequences not just for Sudan but for the world. 

“God forbid if Sudan is to reach a proper civil war … it is a huge country and very diverse … it would be a nightmare for the world,” he said.

But the generals have so far rejected attempts at a compromise. Regional mediators have been unable to travel to Khartoum because of the chaotic fighting. 

African Union Chairperson Moussa Faki said he would nonetheless try to send peacekeepers to the country. 

“I’m ready to go there myself, even by road,” Faki said. “We ask the two generals to create the conditions for us to go to Khartoum.”

(AP)

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Heavy clashes rock Sudan’s capital despite truce extension

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Heavy explosions and gunfire rocked Sudan’s capital, Khartoum and its twin city of Omdurman early Friday, residents said, despite the extension of a fragile truce between the county’s two top generals whose power struggle has killed hundreds.

After two weeks of fighting that has turned the capital into a war zone and thrown Sudan into turmoil, a wide-ranging group of international mediators — including African and Arab nations, the U.N. and the United States — were intensifying their pressure on the rival generals to enter talks on resolving the crisis.

So far, however, they have managed to achieve only a series of fragile temporary cease-fires that failed to stop clashes but created enough of a lull for tens of thousands of Sudanese to flee to safer areas and for foreign nations to evacuate thousands of their citizens by land, air and sea.

In a sign of the persistent chaos, Turkey said one of its evacuation planes was hit by gunfire outside Khartoum with no casualties on Friday, hours after both sides accepted a 72-hour truce extension, apparently to allow foreign governments complete the evacuation of their citizens.

Fierce clashes with frequent explosions and gunfire continued Friday in Khartoum’s upscale neighborhood of Kafouri, where the military earlier used warplanes to bomb its rivals, the Rapid Support Forces, residents said. Clashes were also reported around the military’s headquarters, the Republican Palace and the area close to the Khartoum international airport. All these areas have been flashpoints since the war between the military and the RSF erupted on April 15.

In Omdurman, across the Nile from Khartoum, a protest group reported “constant explosions” in the district of Karari early Friday.

The Turkish Defense Ministry said “light weapons were fired” at a C-130 aircraft heading to Wadi Sayidna airbase on Khartoum’s northern outskirts to evacuate Turkish civilians. The plane landed safely, the ministry said in a tweet, and no personnel were injured.

People pass by damaged cars and buildings at the central market during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum North, Sudan on April 27, 2023.
| Photo Credit:
REUTERS

The Sudanese military blamed the RSF and posted images on its Facebook page, purportedly showing a Turkish aircraft at an airfield, with marks of gunshots on its body and wing. The RSF denied firing on the plane, saying the military controls the area where the airbase is located.

Over the past 14 days of pummeling each other, the military led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan and the RSF led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, have each failed to deal a decisive blow to the other in their struggle for control of Africa’s third largest nation.

Still, world powers have struggled to get them to silence the weapons even for nominal truces. A bloc of East Africa nations has put forward a initiative for the two sides to hold talks, and a gamut of mediators are promoting the plan, including the African Union, the U.S., the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and the U.N.

The military on Thursday expressed its openness to the talks but there has been no word from the RSF. A special envoy from Burhan is to meet in Cairo on Saturday with the foreign minister of Egypt, which has close ties with the Sudanese military, according to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.

Meanwhile, the rivals’ battles in the streets with artillery barrages, airstrikes and gunbattles have wreaked misery on millions of Sudanese caught between them. Many fled Khartoum to the northern borders with Egypt, or to the city of Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

Those who remain in the capital have been living in rapidly deteriorating conditions, mostly trapped inside their homes for days. Food, water and other services have become scarce, and electricity is cut off across much of Khartoum and other cities. Fighters roam the streets in the capital and other cities, looting and destroying homes, shops, businesses and open-air markets.

Volker Türk, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, accused the RSF of removing people from their homes amid fighting in densely populated areas in the capital. He said residents continue to face “looting, extortion, acute shortages of food, water, electricity, fuel, and limited access to healthcare and cash,” according to a statement by Türk’s spokesperson, Ravina Shamdasani.

At least 512 people, including civilians and combatants, have been killed since April 15, with another 4,200 wounded, according to the Sudanese Health Ministry. The Doctors’ Syndicate, which tracks civilian casualties, has recorded at least 387 civilians killed and 1,928 wounded.

Shells are seen on the ground near damaged buildings at the central market during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum North, Sudan. April 27, 2023.

Shells are seen on the ground near damaged buildings at the central market during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum North, Sudan. April 27, 2023.
| Photo Credit:
REUTERS

The health care system is near collapse with dozens of hospitals out of service. Multiple aid agencies have had to suspend operations and evacuate employees.

The French military evacuated dozens of employees with the U.N. and other international aid agencies Thursday night from al-Fasher, a city in Sudan’s western Darfur region, to Chad’s capital, N’Djamena, according to U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric. U.N. envoy Volker Perthes remained in Sudan along with a small team.

In the Darfur city of Genena, the situation remained volatile Friday, a day after armed fighters rampaged through the city, battling each other, killing dozens and looting shops and homes.

“The fighting stopped but the situation is shaky,” said Dr. Salah Tour, a board member of the Doctors’ Syndicate in West Darfur province, of which Genena is the capital.

Residents emerged from their homes Friday morning to collect bodies from the streets and to assess damage of their properties, he said. Tour said the city suffers from “extremely dire shortage” of food, water, and other services amid a dayslong power outage. Health care workers were also struggling to reopen hospitals to treat wounded people, he said.

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These three videos have nothing to do with the clashes in Sudan

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Fighting between the army and paramilitary forces has wracked Sudan since April 15, resulting in civilian casualties due to bombings, gunfire, and other forms of deadly violence. In the midst of this crisis, various social media posts are claiming to document events in Sudan using videos as evidence. However, some of these videos have been taken out of context, and may not accurately represent the situation on the ground.

If you only have a minute

  • Since mid-April, posts shared on WhatsApp and Twitter in several languages are claiming to document the fighting in Sudan in photos and videos. Three videos in particular have gone viral. 
  • The FRANCE 24 Observers team examined these images, looking at visual clues and carrying out reverse image searches, to determine their real origins. Each of these three videos were taken out of context.
  • One was filmed in Ethiopia in June 2022, during a documented massacre. The second is as old as August 2022, when it was first shared on social networks. And the third actually shows bombings in Yemen in June 2020.

The fact-check, in detail

The situation in Sudan is indeed dire, with the ongoing conflict exacerbating an already fragile healthcare system. The fighting between the Sudanese army and paramilitary forces has caused significant damage to hospitals and medical facilities, with many declared out of service. The violence has also resulted in numerous deaths and injuries, with the UN reporting at least 459 people killed and more than 4,000 wounded. 

The violence is not limited to Khartoum and Darfur, with reports of clashes and violence in other parts of the country as well. The impact of the conflict on the civilian population, including access to basic necessities such as food, water, and medicine, is significant and ongoing.

>> Read more on The Observers: In Khartoum, corpses litter the streets: ‘The fighting keeps residents from burying them’

However, the following three videos – which have been shared widely online – have nothing to do with the current violence shaking Sudan.

A video shot in Ethiopia

On Friday, April 21, several readers sent us these extremely violent images, which have been circulating on WhatsApp groups in Kenya. They allegedly show members of the Sudanese army beating a dozen civilians to death. 

Images provided to the FRANCE 24 Observers team via WhatsApp. © Observers

In the video, which was viewed nearly 70,000 times on Twitter (warning, disturbing images), uniformed men whip people to the ground, beat them with sticks, kick them in the face and throw stones at them.

The person who posted the tweet describes himself as “America’s most experienced combat correspondent” and said that a friend shared the video with him. 

The FRANCE 24 Observers team has chosen not to publish the video in its entirety, due to its shocking nature.

Screenshot taken from Twitter on April 25, 2023.
Screenshot taken from Twitter on April 25, 2023. © Observers

However, this video was not taken in Sudan, but rather neighbouring Ethiopia. We determined this from a number of visual clues.

If you pause and zoom in on several frames of the image, you can clearly identify the brand of bottled water in the hand of one soldier. “One”, “natural purified water”, it reads. 

Here, we compare the screenshot of the video taken from Twitter with an image of
Here, we compare the screenshot of the video taken from Twitter with an image of “One” brand bottled water.  © Observers

The brand is owned by an Ethiopian company whose production site is based a few kilometres from the capital, Addis Ababa. 

“The factory is located in the heart of Sebeta, South west of Addis Ababa. […] having 6 production lines with a manufacturing capacity of 120,000 Bottles Per Hour (BPH),” the group’s website states.


Map showing the location of the One production plant, southwest of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

A second clue confirms that the scene is located in Ethiopia. In the video, a military uniform displays a flag with four colours: black, red, green and white. This is the flag of the Gambella region in southwest Ethiopia.

 

Here, we compared a screenshot of the video taken from Twitter with an image of the Gambela region and flag taken from Wikipedia.
Here, we compared a screenshot of the video taken from Twitter with an image of the Gambela region and flag taken from Wikipedia. © Observers

Finally, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, a national human rights institution attached to the federal government, investigated the deadly violence documented in the video.

In a report provided to the FRANCE 24 Observers team, it states that these “human rights violations” caused the death of “at least 50 civilians in the town of Gambella by regional security forces between June 14 and 16, 2022”.

Helicopters filmed in 2022

Other images, posted in English on Twitter on April 15, the day the clashes in Sudan broke out, show several helicopters flying over Khartoum.

The caption accompanying the post, which has been viewed more than 400,000 times, reads: “Many military helicopters are actively flying in Sudan.”

Screenshot taken on Twitter on April 25, 2023.
Screenshot taken on Twitter on April 25, 2023. © Observers

The video is, however, several months old, according to a reverse image search conducted using the online software InVid WeVerify (click here to find out how).

Indeed, the images had already been posted on TikTok on August 14, 2022, long before the current tensions erupted. “Sudanese Air Force,” the caption on the TikTok post reads, in Arabic.

The video was posted on the 68th anniversary of the Sudanese Armed Forces and could show a simple military parade, although no caption explicitly mentions this.

Screenshot taken on TikTok (left) and on Twitter (right) on 25 April 2023. 
Screenshot taken on TikTok (left) and on Twitter (right) on 25 April 2023.  © Observers

We have not been able to find the original video, but the same images were also posted on Facebook on November 24, 2022, by a page broadcasting photos and videos of the Sudanese Armed Forces.

 

Screenshot taken on Facebook (left) and Twitter (right) on April 25, 2023. 
Screenshot taken on Facebook (left) and Twitter (right) on April 25, 2023.  © Observers

A series of bombings filmed in Yemen

A video shared on Twitter on April 18, 2023 claims to show recent bombings in Sudan. 

The video was posted by an account with more than 200,000 followers which describes itself as a relay for “Breaking news, reports, and opinions from ongoing clashes of the world”.

Screenshot taken on Twitter on April 25, 2023.
Screenshot taken on Twitter on April 25, 2023. © Observers

However, this conflict footage was not filmed in Sudan, but in Yemen, in June 2020. A pink banner at the bottom right of the screen gives us a clue. It reads: “@Ana_Al_Fahad”.

 

Screenshot taken on Twitter on April 25, 2023.
Screenshot taken on Twitter on April 25, 2023. © Observers

A keyword search helped us to find the original video posted on a YouTube channel of the same name. “Targeting Houthi leaders and operating rooms in Yemen,” reads the caption of the post, which is dated June 2, 2020.

Although it’s not clear who is behind this YouTube channel, its bio includes a link back to a pro-Saudi Twitter account featuring the Saudi flag and a photograph of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Saudi Arabia has been intervening militarily in Yemen since 2015 to support pro-government forces against the Houthis, Iranian-backed rebels who, in eight years of conflict, have seized large swathes of territory in the north and west of the country, the poorest on the Arabian Peninsula.



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Sudan crisis: Which European countries are evacuating their citizens?

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As continued fighting raises fears of Sudan plunging into deeper chaos, foreign governments have started to get their diplomats and other citizens safely out of the country. 

Several European countries are amongst the first ones to deploy military transport for safe evacuation, including France which used its airbase in neighboring Djibouti for the airlift.

Based on the information available so far, here’s what we know about the European evacuation efforts country-by-country: 

United Kingdom

Some 1,200 British soldiers who were part of a military operation out of a key British air base on the east Mediterranean island of Cyprus helped evacuate around 30 UK diplomatic staff and their families out of Sudan. Arrangements are being made to fly the evacuees back home from Cyprus. 

But not all is going smoothly – about 2,000 British nationals remain in Sudan, and many complain that their government isn’t giving them enough information about evacuation plans.

Britain’s Middle East Minister, Andrew Mitchell, said “intense planning” was underway for a “series of possible evacuations.”

Meanwhile Britain’s foreign minister James Cleverly tweeted that staff had more than 6000 phone calls and messages with British nationals in Sudan and had more than 200 staff “working 24/7”. 

The Foreign Office said the situation in Sudan “remains perilous” and that there were “reports of evacuation convoys coming under fire.” 

France

France brought out 388 people, including citizens from 28 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America, on four flights to Djibouti, in the nearby Horn of Africa, two of them overnight Sunday.

French military personnel also evacuated other European nationalities including from Germany, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Netherlands, Sweden, Romania and Switzerland — as well as non-EU nationals from more than a dozen other countries. 

French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted a picture of a French military plane involved in the evacuation, and warned that “Sudan is in the middle of violent clashes.”

Germany

Three German military transport planes flew 311 people from Sudan to Jordan from where they’ll head to their home countries.

Germany’s Foreign Ministry said Monday that about half of the 311 were foreign nationals. The dpa news agency said among the evacuees were citizens of Australia, Bulgaria, the U.K., Belgium, Norway, Czechia, Ireland, Sweden, and Portugal. The Austrian government said 27 people were Austrian citizens.

And the Africa Director at Germany’s foreign ministry has been reaching out to Africa Union representatives in Addis Ababa “to find ways to end the fighting in Sudan,” the ministry tweeted on Monday. 

Italy

Italian Air Force C-130 transport aircraft airlifted some 200 people out of Khartoum airport Sunday evening and flew them to Djibouti. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said among them were 140 Italians, some Swiss, other Europeans, and personnel from the Vatican’s embassy in Khartoum.

“All the Italians who have asked to leave from Sudan are safe,” Tajani wrote on Twitter. 

“I am proud of the teamwork that led to the success of this delicate and complex evacuation operation. I thank the military, intelligence and diplomacy.” 

Spain

Spain said it had evacuated approximately 172 people from the Sudanese capital to Djibouti so far, including 34 Spanish nationals and citizens of Argentina, Colombia, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Portugal and Poland.

Netherlands

A Dutch air force C-130 Hercules flew out of Sudan to Jordan early Monday carrying evacuees of various nationalities, including Dutch. No exact numbers have been provided.

Sweden and Denmark

Sweden says 25 of its embassy staff and their families were among the 388 people that French aircraft airlifted to Djibouti. Denmark said 15 of its citizens were among the group.

Finland

Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto tweeted that 10 Finns had been evacuated from Khartoum, including children. He said efforts were underway to evacuate several Finns who remain in the Sudanese capital.

“The evacuation of Finns from Sudan has progressed well during the night. A total of 10 Finns have been evacuated. Among them are children. A few who asked for help are still in Khartoum, and efforts are being made to get them out. The situation is still difficult and dangerous.”

Poland

Poland’s Foreign Ministry said 11 Poles – including the ambassador to Sudan, diplomatic staff, and private citizens – have been evacuated as part of French and Spanish efforts.

Greece

Greece’s Foreign Ministry says that 15 Greek nationals and their family members have been evacuated to Djibouti with the help of Italy.

Norway

Norway’s Ambassador to Sudan Endre Stiansen has tweeted that he and two colleagues are “in a safe place outside Sudan” after a successful evacuation. 

Turkey

The Turkish government says it’s evacuating “hundreds” of its citizens by land to Ethiopia, from where they are scheduled to be flown to Istanbul.

Rest of the world

The US, Japan, South Africa, Kenya, South Korea, Jordan, Palestine, and Egypt are amongst the non-European states to evacuate their citizens from Sudan. 

While the US has said no mass evacuation will be in place for some 16000 US citizens in Sudan, its special operations forces used helicopters to ferry 70 embassy personnel out of Khartoum early Sunday. 

Egypt is urging more than 10,000 Egyptian citizens to consular offices in Port Sudan and Wadi Halfa in the north for evacuation. Buses carrying an undisclosed number of Egyptian citizens crossed into Egypt from the Arqin border crossing on Monday.

Kenyan and South African nationals, students, and embassy staffs are on their way out of the Sudanese capital via different government-led arrangements. 

Some 343 Jordanian nationals evacuated from Port Sudan arrived at Amman military airport aboard four transport aircraft.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates says some 72 Palestinians have relocated to Port Sudan while vehicle convoys are carrying about 200 Palestinians to Egypt.

South Korea and Japan are ready to airlift their citizens via separate military aircraft once preparations are completed.

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