UPDATE 2 - Countries Evacuating Nationals, Diplomats From Sudan

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd April, 2023) A number of countries launched operations to evacuate their citizens and diplomatic corps from Sudan on Sunday as the local parties to conflict committed to a three-day religious ceasefire.

Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told the Sky TG24 broadcaster that around 19 Italian tourists had been evacuated from the northeastern African nation, while around 140 Italian citizens remain in Sudan's capital of Khartoum. Italian air force jets are on standby in Djibouti, but the evacuation's timeframe depends on the course of the conflict, he added.

Spain followed suit and decided to evacuate around 50 people, including its own citizens and nationals of other European and Latin American countries, from Sudan amid the ongoing fighting, the Efe news agency reported, citing sources. Spain's military transport planes have been stationed in Djibouti for two days, the report said.

In Sweden, the parliament gave the go-ahead on Sunday morning to the government's plan to send a military detachment to Sudan to help Swedish citizens and diplomats flee the country, the Sweden Posts outlet reported. The mandate allows for a contingent of up to 400 servicemen, although in practice it will be much smaller, possibly consisting of under 150 people, the report said.

The United Kingdom has already completed its evacuation operation, which it carried out together with the United States, France and other allies, the UK defense ministry said, adding that 1,200 UK troops participated.

"UK armed forces have completed a complex and rapid evacuation of British diplomats and their families from Sudan, amid a significant escalation in violence and threats to embassy staff. I pay tribute to the commitment of our diplomats and bravery of the military personnel who carried out this difficult operation," UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak added.

Czech Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mariana Wernerova said that Prague was looking for opportunities to evacuate four of its citizens from Sudan.

"Several international evacuation convoys are being formed in Sudan. Our colleagues in Cairo and Brussels, as well as us in Prague, are now working to ensure that four Czech citizens join these convoys," Wernerova said.

Canada's foreign minister also said it had evacuated its diplomatic staff and suspended the embassy's work until the security situation in Sudan improves.

Lebanon said it had evacuated about 60 of its citizens from Sudan.

"The Lebanese embassy in Sudan organized a convoy to evacuate about 60 Lebanese people to Lebanon by sea," the Lebanese government's press office said on Twitter.

Egypt also started evacuating its nationals from safe districts of Khartoum in coordination with the Sudanese authorities, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said. The country's embassies in Khartoum and Port Sudan, as well as the consulate in Wadi Halfa, are in touch with the Egyptians who are being evacuated, the ministry added.

A number of countries have been evacuating their nationals and diplomats from Sudan in cooperation with other African and middle Eastern countries for land and air transit. The United States has evacuated its embassy staff from Khartoum but not regular US nationals. Russia has evacuated its nationals in Sudan's conflict areas to its embassy in Khartoum.

On April 15, violent clashes broke out between the Sudanese regular army and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group, with the epicenter in Khartoum. Government forces accused the RSF of mutiny and launched airstrikes against their bases. Abdel Fattah Burhan, the head of the Sudanese military, issued a decree disbanding the RSF. The sides have agreed to a three-day truce starting Friday for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.