Sudan. Behind the scenes of the evacuation of British diplomats from Khartoum. “Complex and fast” operation

On Sunday (April 23) at Several countries have announced that they have taken their nationals out of Sudan. The operation on the largest scale was the evacuation of the US embassy, ​​where nearly 100 people were staying. The country engulfed in fighting also left, among others, Polish peopleassisted by “partners from Spain, Germany and France”.

An exceptionally complicated operation was the evacuation of the British embassy in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. British Defense Minister Ben Wallace explained to BBC News that the facility is located between the headquarters of the two warring parties. He stressed that British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force (RAF) personnel were involved in the operation, and C-130 Hercules and A400 Airbus aircraft were used in the rescue operation.

Several hours after the end of the “complex and quick” operation – as Rishi Sunak called it – its backstage was described by Sky News.

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The station explains on its website that on Saturday evening, diplomats and other employees of the British embassy, ​​along with their families, gathered in the building, where they were to wait for the soldiers. There were also several officials from other countries who were offered help by the British. In total, about 30 people, including children, appeared on the spot.

The soldiers flew to Sudan on two American planes. As explained by Sky News, around 1am from Saturday to Sunday they landed at Wadi Seidna airport, about 30 kilometers from the assembly point. From there, they got to the embassy by land, using vehicles parked at the place. American allies were waiting for them in the planes.

The portal emphasizes that the most dangerous stage of the entire rescue mission was the return from Khartoum to the airport, already together with the evacuated people. There were several checkpoints along the way, and the British took into account that there might be fighting in their area.

As reported by Sky News, the command was ready to send more planes and troops to the site in the event of such a situation, with the ability to “break through” checkpoints and reach diplomats. In such a scenario, the unit escorting the diplomats would focus not on their evacuation, but on their protection. However, there was no such need. The evacuation operation was “relatively peaceful”, although Sky News points out that it is not known at this time whether the British convoy encountered shelling along the way.

According to the portal, the planes, already with diplomats and their families on board, took off around 9 on Sunday and returned to Cyprus, from where they had previously flown to Sudan.

The conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF) broke out on April 15. As part of the changes proposed by the government, the RSF was to be incorporated into the regular armed forces. However, the generals could not agree on the timing of this, and the political dispute turned into a civil war.

On Friday, the Sudanese army announced that agrees to a three-day truce in nearly a week of fighting. However, the BBC reported that despite a theoretical ceasefire on Saturday, shootings broke out in Khartoum from time to time, and there were also air raids.

The latest report from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that at least 413 people have been killed and 3,551 injured in the last week as a result of fighting in Sudan.

SEE ALSO: “The Spirit of the Civil War” is here. “The smell of death is everywhere”