KHARTUM, Sudan (AP) — As a foreign government airlifted hundreds of diplomats and other citizens to safety, Sudanese on Monday said the country’s two rival generals were seeking to escalate power. I longed for a way out of the chaos for fear of ending the all-out struggle.
In a dramatic evacuation operation, a convoy of foreign diplomats, civilian teachers, students, workers and families from dozens of countries pushed fighters along a tense front line in the capital Khartoum to rescue them. You have reached the point. Others drove hundreds of miles to the east coast of the country. Streams of military aircraft from Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia flew in and out.
But for many Sudanese, the airlift is a chilling sign that after repeated failed ceasefire talks, international powers only expect fighting to escalate, which has already put the population at risk. is falling into The last nominal ceasefire, which has resulted in little reduction in fighting, was due to expire on Monday night.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned of “devastating wildfires” that could engulf the entire region. He called on the 15 members of the Security Council to “use their maximum leverage” on both sides to “pull Sudan back from the brink of collapse.”
Sudanese face a harrowing search for safety amid an ever-changing battle of explosions, shootings and gunmen looting shops and homes. Many are stuck at home during his nine days. Food and fuel are becoming more expensive and harder to find, electricity and the internet are down in much of the country, and hospitals are on the brink of collapse. If time permits, drive 15 hours to the Egyptian border or Sudan ports on the east coast. Those unable to travel abroad flocked to the relatively quiet states along the Nile to the north and south of Khartoum. Cash shortages and rising transportation costs have trapped even more people.
“Leaving Khartoum has become a luxury,” said high school teacher Shahin Al-Sherif. Al-Sherif, 27, desperately tried to arrange transportation from Khartoum for himself, his sister, mother, aunt and grandmother. They were trapped inside a house in Khartoum’s Amarat district for days, with heavy fighting raging outside. Eventually they moved further away to a safer area.
However, Al-Sherif expects the situation to worsen and fears that his sister, aunt and grandmother are all diabetic and will not be able to get the supplies they need. Bus ticket prices have more than quadrupled, he said, and renting a 50-passenger bus to the Egyptian border costs about $14,000.
Amani El-Tawil, an Egyptian expert on Africa, warned of the “terrible suffering” of those unable to leave Sudan. In a country where a third of the population already needs humanitarian assistance, aid agencies are unable to reach most Sudanese as a result of the conflict.
Once the evacuation is complete, “the warring parties will not honor calls for a ceasefire or truce,” she said.
Heavy gunfire and thunderous explosions rocked the city, with ongoing fighting between the military and rival paramilitary forces, the Rapid Support Forces. In the afternoon, airstrikes increased for an hour until the Karakula district along the Nile River in Khartoum was “leveled,” said Atiya Abdulla Atiya, the secretary of the medical group. The bombing sent dozens of wounded to Turkish hospitals. The Turkish hospital is he one of the few medical facilities still functioning.
