Amid the ongoing violence in Sudan, foreign powers are working to evacuate their diplomats and citizens from the country.
Thousands of foreigners have been stranded in Sudan since fighting erupted last week between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The confrontations came as the country has been embroiled in political turmoil since the ouster of longtime leader Omar al-Bashir in April 2019. A joint civilian-military transitional government that replaced Bashir’s rule collapsed after army commander Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his then-ally Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (known as “Hemedti”), who heads the RSF, staged a military coup against their civilian partners in power in October 2021.
After Sudanese rival forces reached an agreement in December to pave the way for a democratic transition in Sudan, a dispute emerged between Burhan and Hemedti over the integration of the RSF into the army and who will assume leadership of the military — culminating in the deadly clashes that erupted April 15.
The fighting has killed more than 420 people and left 3,700 injured, according to the World Health Organization. Thousands have fled the clashes. About 10,000 refugees entered South Sudan over the past two days, according to officials in South Sudan's Renk County. Meanwhile, millions in Sudan have been cut off from basic services. The United Nations has warned that the already “precarious” humanitarian situation in Sudan could turn “catastrophic,” urging all parties to immediately end the fighting and engage in dialogue to restore peace.
