Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The de facto Sudanese President and Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, has agreed to evacuate civilians and diplomatic representatives from the African country.
An army spokesman announced on Saturday that the United States, Britain, France and China would start evacuating the capital, Khartoum, "within the next few hours" with military transport planes.
Belgium has also started preparations to evacuate its citizens, a source told VRT. The country is cooperating with France, which is leading the European evacuation effort, and has no aircraft in the area. The Belgian news agency reported Saturday.
Al-Burhan said it would "facilitate and ensure" the evacuation and give countries "the necessary support to ensure this." The spokesman added that a Saudi delegation had already been evacuated from the eastern city of Port Sudan.
And in Sudan, a clash took place last week between the Rapid Support Forces, led by Vice President Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, and the regular army of General and President Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. The World Health Organization reported on Friday that more than 400 people have already been killed.
A journalist from the DPA news agency noted that a truce was largely respected on Friday evening in the capital, Khartoum, with "sporadic" clashes. But in the morning the violence resumed.
The fiercest fighting took place in Khartoum, which has a population of 5 million. There, fighter jets launch airstrikes, tanks roll through the streets and shootings take place in densely populated areas. Most of the residents have been confining themselves to their homes for days, only going out to get food or to flee the city.