Fighting in Sudan continued for the tenth day in a row on Tuesday, though a US official said that a three-day ceasefire had been negotiated by the United States and Saudi Arabia. Media reports said that sounds of heavy gunfire and explosions rang through the capital city of Khartoum.
Meanwhile, the Indian government has launched Operation Kaveri to evacuate stranded Indians from Sudan. Of the 500 Indians who had reached Port Sudan on Monday, 278 people departed for Jeddah on INS Sumedha.
It is estimated that there are around 3,000 Indians in the African nation. One Keralite was killed in the violence last week.
First batch of stranded Indians leave Sudan under #OperationKaveri.
INS Sumedha with 278 people onboard departs Port Sudan for Jeddah. pic.twitter.com/4hPrPPsi1I
— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) April 25, 2023
So far, over 420 people have been killed and over 3,700 wounded in fighting between the Sudanese armed forces and the powerful paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces, according to the latest report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), issued on April 23.
Here’s a one-stop guide to the latest updates from Sudan.
📌 What are the latest developments?
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced on Monday that a 72-hour ceasefire has been successfully negotiated to aid humanitarian aid and evacuation measures. The warring parties — the Sudanese military under Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) under Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagal — confirmed this via separate statements.
“This cease-fire aims to establish humanitarian corridors, allowing citizens and residents to access essential resources, healthcare, and safe zones, while also evacuating diplomatic missions,” the RSF said in a statement, as per an Associated Press report. The army made a similar statement, but warned that the truce is conditional on “the rebels commit to stopping all hostilities.”
However, residents told news agencies that the fighting is continuing.
Continued clashes in #Sudan are leading to acute shortages of food, water, medicines and fuel. Prices of essential items have skyrocketed.
The fighting must stop. People need access to urgent aid and basic services.
— UN Humanitarian (@UNOCHA) April 24, 2023
📌 How are the evacuations coming along?
Most countries have safely evacuated their diplomatic staff. Now, it’s the turn of the civilians.
But the situation on the ground is still considered to be dangerous. For instance, though the United Kingdom said it is operating flights for civilians from Tuesday, officials said that those who want to evacuate should navigate the treacherous route to the airfield outside Khartoum on their own. British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly described the situation as “dangerous, volatile and unpredictable”. “We cannot predict how the situation on the ground will develop,” he added, as per an Associated Press report.
Other governments, including India, too are looking for options to safely evacuate their citizens.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday evening that 500 Indians have reached Port Sudan in the south of the country. Of this, 278 people left for Jeddah in the navy vessel INS Sumedha on Tuesday. As many as 3,000 Indians are believed to be stranded in Sudan. A few of them have been evacuated by the French and Saudi Arabian rescue missions, but their exact numbers have not been released.
Operation Kaveri gets underway to bring back our citizens stranded in Sudan.
About 500 Indians have reached Port Sudan. More on their way.
Our ships and aircraft are set to bring them back home.
Committed to assist all our bretheren in Sudan. pic.twitter.com/8EOoDfhlbZ
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) April 24, 2023
The ongoing clashes have already claimed the life of an Indian. Albert Augustine, 48, an ex-serviceman from Kerala, was killed after being hit by stray bullets. The Indian Express reported that Albert had been working as a security manager with a firm in Sudan and was hit by a bullet when he opened a window of his house to make a call to his son who studies in the UK.
📌 A quick backgrounder
Sudan’s military, headed by Lt Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary group RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, are up in arms due to their disagreements over the proposed transition to civilian rule in the country. Burhan and Dagalo fell out over a recent internationally brokered deal with democracy activists that was meant to incorporate the RSF into the military and eventually lead to civilian rule. Alind Chauhan explains the origin of the power tussle.
There is a widespread shortage of food, clean water, medicine, fuel, electricity and means of communication, as per the latest OCHA report. It added that the prices of essentials have skyrocketed. The report said that there have been nearly a dozen verified attacks on health facilities. The clashes have also triggered an exodus of civilians to neighbouring nations like Chad, Egypt and South Sudan.
(With inputs from agencies)
