EKO HOT BLOG reports that as Sudan experiences violent clashes between warring factions, Western and Asian nations have launched evacuation efforts to move their citizens out of the country.
On Tuesday, the Sudanese military and the paramilitary group fighting for control accused each other of violating the 72-hour ceasefire agreed upon. The United Kingdom, France, South Korea, and several other countries have confirmed the evacuation of their nationals from the country.
The White House is also considering sending US troops to Port Sudan to assist with the evacuation of American citizens. Two US warships, the USS Truxtun and the USS Lewis B Puller, have been deployed towards Port Sudan for this purpose.
Sudan has been caught up in violence since mid-April when two rival generals started a bloody power struggle that spilled into the streets. Since then, their forces have been engaged in combat on the streets of Khartoum and in towns around the capital.
The latest ceasefire agreement, which US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said followed two days of “intense negotiation,” gave countries a small window of time to move their citizens and staff to safety. Saudi Arabia was also involved in mediating the truce, according to a statement from the Sudanese Armed Forces.
The images released by the US military showed personnel arriving in Djibouti, while France and Pakistan confirmed the evacuation of hundreds of their nationals. China said most of its citizens had been pulled out of the country.
Meanwhile, many Sudanese people have attempted to make their own dangerous escapes from the capital during brief breaks in combat to rush to safety.
Despite the ceasefire, gunfire and fighter jets were heard in Khartoum on Tuesday morning, but the fighting seemed to be relatively calmer than Monday, according to CNN journalists in the city. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) blamed the army for violating the truce by “continuing to attack Khartoum by planes.” Eyewitnesses told CNN that fighter jets were heard over Omdurman, to the north of the capital.
The RSF has set up checkpoints in the streets of the capital, while the army continues defending its headquarters, the General Command building in the Hay Al Matar neighborhood near the airport.
Throughout the fighting, the RSF and the Sudanese military have issued statements discrediting each other, with unsubstantiated claims of their control over key posts of the capital and accusations of each side targeting civilians.
On Monday, the Sudanese military claimed that the RSF killed an Egyptian diplomat, while the RSF claimed the army targeted civilians in an airstrike on a Khartoum neighborhood. Both groups did *not provide evidence* for their claims.
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