We are pausing this live blog for now and will return with big breaking developments. You can read our latest reports from Sudan here:
Summary of the day so far …
Heavy explosions and gunfire rocked Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, and its twin city of Omdurman early on Friday, residents said, despite the extension of a fragile truce between the county’s two top generals whose power struggle has killed hundreds. Videos and images being sent from Khartoum continue to show smoke over the city. There have been multiple truce efforts since fighting broke out on 15 April between Sudan’s army led by Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commanded by his deputy-turned-rival, Gen Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, also known as Hemedti. All have ultimately failed so far.
Residents reported fierce clashes in Khartoum’s neighbourhood of Kafouri, where the military earlier had used warplanes to bomb the RSF. Clashes were also reported around the military’s headquarters, the Republican Palace and the area close to the Khartoum international airport. All these areas have been flashpoints since the war erupted. The RSF has claimed that the army’s aircraft bombed its positions in Omdurman and Jabal Awliya, south of Khartoum.
The Darfur Bar Association, a civil society group, said fighters were “launching rockets at houses” in the West Darfur state capital, El Geneina, about 685 miles (1,100km) west of Khartoum. It also reported firing from “rifles, machine guns and anti-aircraft weapons”. AFP reports the Bar Association said fighting had spread “nearly all over the city” and fighters had looted and torched “markets, public buildings, aid warehouses and banks”.
Turkey said one of its evacuation aircraft was hit on Friday by light gunfire outside Khartoum with no causalities. Sudan’s army claimed it had been fired upon by the RSF. The RSF denied the claim, saying it did not have a presence near the airstrip being used for civilian evacuations.
Officials monitoring evacuee arrivals say that since Tuesday when the first 72-hour ceasefire kicked in, more than 1,500 people have been brought in on RAF rescue flights from Sudan. An estimated 850 men, women and children have been flown onwards to the UK on charter flights provided by the British government. A UK-bound charter plane carrying roughly 250 people evacuated from Sudan on RAF rescue flights left Cyprus at 2pm BST. A second charter carrying evacuees is scheduled to head to Birmingham early evening local time.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said an estimated 20,000 people, primarily Chadian and Sudanese nationals, had crossed Sudan’s border into Chad since fighting began almost two weeks ago. The UN refugee agency estimated that up to 100,000 people may seek refuge in Chad in the coming weeks from Sudan, as well as a further 170,000 people fleeing to South Sudan.
The foreign ministry of Saudia Arabia announced it evacuated another 195 people from Port Sudan to Jeddah. The HMS Makkah had 195 people on board, and included citizens from Pakistan, Palestine, Thailand, Mauritania, Sri Lanka, the US, Poland, India, UK, Austria, Indonesia, Canada, Iraq, Egypt, Australia and Syria.
Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN high commissioner for human rights, has called upon both sides of the fighting in Sudan to “immediately end hostilities” and to “halt hostilities in residential areas and the targeting of civilian population and infrastructure”.
The South Sudanese ambassador to the UK, Agnes Oswaha, has said that her country will need more finanical aid to help cope with an expected influx of refugees from neighbouring Sudan.
Updated
The UK’s Ministry of Defence has issued some more photos of the evacuation operation taking place at Wadi Seidna in Sudan.
Updated
Diane Taylor reports for the Guardian:
The UK Home Office has been accused of putting the lives of a heavily pregnant woman and her three-year-old daughter at risk as they remain stranded in Sudan while waiting for a UK visa.
The family have been waiting more than a year for their documents to be issued, with the mother, who is almost nine months pregnant, trying to shield her daughter from the violence on the streets of Khartoum, the capital.
Her husband, who has refugee status in the UK and works as a carer in Wolverhampton, is trying everything to get his loved ones out of the conflict zone – in which there are still flareups of violence despite the ceasefire – before his wife gives birth.
The couple, both 25, are Eritrean refugees who cannot be named for security reasons. Like many other Eritreans they fled their repressive home country and crossed the border to Sudan, where they initially settled. The couple then agreed the husband would try reaching the UK and claim asylum because Sudan was unsafe.
Read more here: Pregnant wife and child stranded in Sudan due to Home Office delays, says husband
Updated
This is from Ruth Michaelson’s latest report on the situation in Sudan:
Fierce battles and airstrikes have caused mass displacement, with thousands of Sudanese and foreign nationals fleeing the capital for Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast or to the borders with neighbouring countries.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said an estimated 20,000 people, primarily Chadian and Sudanese nationals, had crossed Sudan’s border into Chad since fighting began almost two weeks ago. The UN refugee agency estimated that up to 100,000 people may seek refuge in Chad in the coming weeks from Sudan, as well as a further 170,000 people fleeing to South Sudan.
The non-governmental organisation Care says most of those arriving in the Sudan-Chad border region are women and children. More than 42,000 people are sheltering in the open or in huts carrying just a few essential belongings or in some cases nothing at all due to the stress of their flight from their homes.
Aid groups in Chad also highlighted concerns that the influx of refugees had come as they were trying to prepare for the lean season between harvests, increasing food insecurity for millions, as well as heavy rains that could block vital food aid to thousands of stranded refugees.
UK evacuation flight leaves Cyprus for London, flight to Birmingham to follow
Helena Smith is in Larnaca for the Guardian:
A UK-bound charter plane carrying roughly 250 people evacuated from Sudan on RAF rescue flights has just left Cyprus.
The charter, which will land at London Stansted airport, was meant to depart Larnaca’s international airport at 12.30pm, but like almost all before it has been delayed.
A second charter carrying evacuees is scheduled to head to Birmingham early evening local time.
More than 1,500 British nationals have been flown to the eastern Mediterranean island since the start of the rescue mission on Tuesday.
Updated
The foreign ministry of Saudia Arabia has announced that it has evacuated another 195 people from Port Sudan to Jeddah.
The HMS Makkah had 195 people on board, and included citizens from Pakistan, Palestine, Thailand, Mauritania, Sri Lanka, the US, Poland, India, UK, Austria, Indonesia, Canada, Iraq, Egypt, Australia and Syria
In the statement, the Saudi foreign ministry said it had evacuated in total approximately 2,991 people, including 119 Saudi citizens and people from 80 other nationalities.
In continuation of the evacuation efforts made by the Kingdom of #Saudi Arabia under the directives of the Kingdom's Leadership, several evacuees arrived in Jeddah this morning from the Republic of #Sudan. The number of arrivals is 195 and were transported through H M S Makkah. pic.twitter.com/U5XAIcMNJ9
— Foreign Ministry 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaEN) April 28, 2023
Updated
Ethiopia’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed Ali, tweeted earlier to say that he had spoken to the leaders of both military factions fighting in Sudan, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Gen Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.
The great people of Sudan deserve peace. I have held phone discussions with both General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo on the need to settle differences amicably and bring stability to Sudan.
— Abiy Ahmed Ali 🇪🇹 (@AbiyAhmedAli) April 28, 2023
Updated
The Guardian’s diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour, has spoken to the Saudi ambassador to the UK, who has told him his country was working diplomatically for a ceasefire and restoring a civilian-led transition in the country.
The fighting between the Sudanese armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) comes after the two groups balked at the integration of their forces before a planned transition to civilian rule after the overthrow of country’s former dictator, Omar al-Bashir, in 2019.
Khalid bin Bandar’s remarks suggest Saudi Arabia may recognise that if the fighting can be controlled it will have to press harder for the military to back civilian rule of some sort.
You can read the full report here:
Updated
Summary of the day so far
Heavy explosions and gunfire rocked Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, and its twin city of Omdurman early on Friday, residents said, despite the extension of a fragile truce between the county’s two top generals whose power struggle has killed hundreds. Videos and images being sent from Khartoum continue to show smoke over the city. There have been multiple truce efforts since fighting broke out on 15 April between Sudan’s army led by Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commanded by his deputy-turned-rival, Gen Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, also known as Hemedti. All have ultimately failed so far.
Residents reported fierce clashes in Khartoum’s neighbourhood of Kafouri, where the military earlier had used warplanes to bomb the RSF. Clashes were also reported around the military’s headquarters, the Republican Palace and the area close to the Khartoum international airport. All these areas have been flashpoints since the war erupted. The RSF has claimed that the army’s aircraft bombed its positions in Omdurman and Jabal Awliya, south of Khartoum.
Turkey said one of its evacuation aircraft was hit on Friday by light gunfire outside Khartoum with no causalities. Sudan’s army claimed it had been fired upon by the RSF. The RSF denied the claim, saying it did not have a presence near the airstrip being used for civilian evacuations.
Officials monitoring evacuee arrivals say that since Tuesday when the first 72-hour ceasefire kicked in, more than 1,500 people have been brought in on RAF rescue flights from Sudan. An estimated 850 men, women and children have been flown onwards to the UK on charter flights provided by the British government. On Friday four military transporter planes are expected to bring British nationals in and three flights are expected to continue onwards journeys to Stansted airport in London.
Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN high commissioner for human rights, has called upon both sides of the fighting in Sudan to “immediately end hostilities” and to “halt hostilities in residential areas and the targeting of civilian population and infrastructure”.
The South Sudanese ambassador to the UK, Agnes Oswaha, has said that her country will need more finanical aid to help cope with an expected influx of refugees from neighbouring Sudan.
Australia’s foreign minister, Penny Wong, has thanked her French counterpart, Catherine Colonna, for France’s assistance in evacuating Australian nationals from Sudan.
Updated
This is from last week, but if you would like a video recap on how Sudan got into this situation, Guardian journalist Zeinab Mohammed Salih outlines the origins of the conflict, and what might come next for the east African country in this explainer.
More pictures have been sent to us over the news wires showing the continued signs of fighting taking place in Khartoum.
Updated
The British Royal Marines has posted a short video illustrating its role in the evacuations from Sudan.
Bringing them home... 🇬🇧#RoyalMarines are working relentlessly at Wadi Seidna airport just outside Khartoum to evacuate British nationals from #Sudan.
— Royal Marines (@RoyalMarines) April 28, 2023
Read more: https://t.co/dbl9faI9aC pic.twitter.com/yBTaoORX5z
Updated
This screengrab from a video obtained by Reuters purports to be filmed from Omdurman and show plumes of smoke rising in Bahri, Khartoum North today.
The Guardian has not independently verified the claim.
Updated
Today, Andres Schipani, Felicia Schwartz and John Paul Rathbone have published an analysis in the FT looking at the makeup and capabilities of both sides in the conflict in Sudan, saying it involves two very different fighting forces. They write:
Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s army is made up of ground troops backed by an air force and heavy artillery. As such, it is better at defending strategic locations such as the presidential compound that has recently come under attack. Hemedti’s RSF is a mobile guerrilla force, partly derived from the feared Janjaweed militia that crushed the rebellion in the western Darfur region that erupted in 2003.
Burhan commands about 100,000 troops which are “relatively well-equipped” with recent acquisitions of Russian and Ukrainian surplus, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). His forces have Soviet-designed MiG-29s and new Chinese fighter ground-attack aircraft. The military also runs a company that manufactures ammunition, small arms and armoured vehicles.
Hemeti’s forces, meanwhile, were “looting and marauding” as their predecessors did across Darfur, said Cameron Hudson, a former chief of staff to US special envoys for Sudan. Brigades of the Janjaweed were accused by the international criminal court of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The RSF has a 40,000-strong troop, according to the IISS, although one senior member of the paramilitary group claimed to have more than 150,000 men equipped with armoured vehicles and Russian anti-aircraft machine guns.
Hemeti has hailed the discipline of his forces – whose members fought in Yemen on behalf of the Gulf-led coalition against Houthi rebels – although others have cast doubt on the chain of command. While about 10,000 of them were intrinsically loyal to Hemeti owing to clan ties, the RSF was otherwise “a force for hire”, analysts said.
A disadvantage for the paramilitary group is that many of its troops – often recruited from clans in Chad, Darfur and peripheral parts of Sudan – have never been to Khartoum or do not know the terrain where the fighting is now centred.
Updated
UN human rights commissioner calls on both sides in Sudan conflict to halt 'the targeting of civilian population and infrastructure'
Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN high commissioner for human rights, has called upon both sides of the fighting in Sudan to “immediately end hostilities” and to “halt hostilities in residential areas and the targeting of civilian population and infrastructure”. In a statement issued from Geneva, she said:
Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes to find places of greater safety, at any cost, and face abuses en route. While a welcome ceasefire meant some reprieve in the fighting, clashes continued to be reported.
We are concerned at the serious risk of violence escalating in West Darfur as the hostilities between the RSF and SAF have triggered intercommunal violence. In El Geneina, West Darfur, deadly ethnic clashes have been reported, with an estimated 96 people killed since 24 April.
It is deeply alarming that inmates have been released from, or escaped from, a number of prisons. We are very worried about the prospect of further violence, amid a generalised climate of impunity.
We call on the parties to immediately end hostilities, and in particular to halt hostilities in residential areas and the targeting of civilian population and infrastructure. The protection of civilians must be paramount. International humanitarian law demands it.
Following decades of repression, armed conflict and deprivation, the people of Sudan must not be subjected to further violations of their fundamental human rights.
Updated
Here is the full text of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) press release denying its forces shot at a Turkish evacuation plane in Sudan earlier today. Through its social media channels, the RSF wrote:
In light of recent media reports, the RSF would like to deny the allegations made by the coup leaders of the armed forces, backed by the extremist remnants of the defunct regime, that our forces attacked a Turkish evacuation plane. We refute these claims and categorically state that they are not based on any factual evidence.
Our forces have remained strictly committed to the humanitarian truce that we agreed upon since midnight, and it is not true that we targeted any aircraft in the sky of Wadi Seidna in Omdurman, which is an area not under the control of our forces, and we do not have any forces in its proximity.
Therefore, the entire responsibility rests with the putschists who are trying to blame the RSF forces to sabotage our relations with brotherly and friendly countries. We have played an active role in ensuring the safe evacuation of the Turkish mission from all the cities of the capital over the past days, and it would be unreasonable to attack a Turkish evacuation plane.
In contrast, it is evident that the coup plotters are trying to deceive the parties to the initiative by using the armistice decision as a manoeuvre, while continuing to bomb our positions, as seen through the flight of warplanes and their bombardment of our forces and citizens’ homes in al-Salha, al-Thawrat, and Umbada, and the attack on Jabal Awlia base. Warplanes are still flying in the skies of Khartoum, which has been witnessed by citizens and residents of brotherly and friendly countries.
The RSF reiterate our commitment to upholding the humanitarian truce and call for the immediate cessation of violence against our people. We urge the international community to hold the coup plotters accountable for their actions and stand with us in our pursuit of a peaceful and democratic future for Sudan.
Updated
Heavy explosions and gunfire rocked Sudan’s capital, Khartoum and its twin city of Omdurman early on Friday, residents said, despite the extension of a fragile truce between the county’s two top generals whose power struggle has killed hundreds. Turkey also said one of its evacuation aircrafts was hit Friday by gunfire outside Khartoum with no causalities.
In its latest round-up of events, Samy Magdy reports from Cairo for Associated Press that the escalation came hours after both sides accepted a 72-hour extension of the truce, apparently to allow foreign governments complete the evacuation of their citizens from the African nation.
Multiple short truces have not stopped the fighting, but they created enough of a lull for tens of thousands of Sudanese to flee to safer areas and for foreign nations to evacuate thousands of their citizens by land, air and sea. [See 7.40am BST for a list of foreign evacuations]
Residents reported fierce clashes in Khartoum’s neighbourhood of Kafouri, where the military earlier had used warplanes to bomb its rivals, the Rapid Support Forces, in the area.
Clashes were also reported around the military’s headquarters, the Republican Palace and the area close to the Khartoum international airport. All these areas are flashpoints since the war between the military and the RSF erupted on 15 April.
“Heavy explosions and constant gunfire are heard across Kafouri streets,” said Abdalla, a Kafouri resident who asked to be identified only by his first name for his safety.
In Omdurman, across the Nile from Khartoum, a protest group reported “constant explosions” in the district of Karari early on Friday. It called residents in the area to remain vigilant.
The RSF has claimed that the army’s aircraft bombed its positions in Omdurman and Jabal Awliya, south of Khartoum. The military, meanwhile, accused the paramilitary force of beginning the attack. It was not possible to verify either claim.
The Turkish defence ministry said “light weapons were fired” at a C-130 aircraft heading to Wadi Sayidna airbase, about 22 kilometers (14 miles) north of Khartoum, to evacuate Turkish civilians. The plane landed safely, the ministry said in a tweet, and no personnel were injured.
The Sudanese military blamed the RSF for firing at the Turkish aircraft, a claim the paramilitary force denied.
Updated
Australia’s foreign minister Penny Wong has thanked her French counterpart Catherine Colonna for France’s assistance in evacuating Australian nationals from Sudan.
Wong also urged Australian wanting to flee the country to “consider doing so as soon as possible.
Australian citizens in Sudan are being asked to register with their government.
Thank you to @MinColonna, @ambassthebault and France for their support of our evacuation efforts in Sudan.
— Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) April 28, 2023
Australians wishing to leave should strongly consider doing so as soon as possible.
Register with DFAT if you are in Sudan at https://t.co/e6kWiZDH72 https://t.co/zah1K0J3aD
Overnight in the Times of London, George Grylls, the paper’s defence correspondent, alongside Oliver Moody in Berlin and Oliver Wright, have given more details of what the paper claims was “the UK’s chaotic Sudan evacuation”. They repeat the claim from German sources that Britain’s failure to communicate caused problems at the airstrip in Sudan. They write:
According to three well placed German sources, the C130-J Hercules made a “very dangerous” unannounced landing. Two German officials with knowledge of the situation said the apparent failure to coordinate the mission with local air traffic control led the British aircraft to almost crash into another aeroplane on the runway. Another source could not confirm this claim but said the German government had been “very unhappy” about Britain’s alleged refusal to discuss the mission beforehand, which had demonstrated a “lack of solidarity”.
British sources disputed this version of the events and said those managing the runway – which was still not controlled by German troops, although they were set to take over the international coordination unit later in the day – had been alerted to the arrival of the RAF plane well in advance of the landing. One source said it was flat-out wrong to describe the landing as “dangerous”.
Yesterday in parliament, foreign secretary James Cleverly was quite careful to repeatedly say that “to his knowledge” the UK had all the permissions it needed to make the landings, but that if there were lessons to be learned, they would be. He said he was in close and constant contact with his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock.
1,500 people have been evacuated by the RAF to Cyprus, 850 have travelled onward to UK
Over in Cyprus our correspondent Helena Smith has learned a little more about the number of evacuees being brought to the east Mediterranean island:
Officials monitoring evacuee arrivals say that since Tuesday when the first 72-hour ceasefire kicked in, more than 1,500 people have been brought in on RAF rescue flights from Sudan. An estimated 850 men, women and children have been flown onwards to the UK on charter flights provided by the British government.
On Friday, the fourth day of the evacuation operation, four military transporter planes are expected to bring British nationals in and three are expected to continue onwards journeys to Stansted Airport in London.
“The first in is expected at 1.20pm and the first out at 12.30pm but delays are definitely expected,” one official told the Guardian.
There have been scenes of joy and elation at Larnaca airport where evacuees have described harrowing experiences getting to the Wadi Seidna airfield north of Khartoum where the RAF, faciliated by the second 72-hour truce, are rotating flights in and out of the northeast African country.
The airlift is not exclusively focused on stranded Britons. Citizens from other countries including America, Canada and Australia are also being flown into Cyprus.
“We are deeply grateful to Cyprus and the UK for their exceptional efforts helping evacuate individuals, including Americans from Sudan,” the US ambassador to Cyprus, Julie Fisher, wrote on Twitter.
You can read more about Helena Smith’s day at Larnaca airport yesterday speaking to evacuees from Sudan here: ‘What I saw was terrifying’ – Britons land in Cyprus after Sudan escape
RSF denies claim it fired on Turkish plane at Wadi Seidna
Reuters reports that the RSF has denied firing at a Turkish plane, and said the Sudanese army was “spreading lies”.
“Our forces have remained strictly committed to the humanitarian truce that we agreed upon since midnight, and it is not true that we targeted any aircraft in the sky of Wadi Seidna in Omdurman,” the RSF said in a statement.
Updated
Airstrikes reported to continue in Khartoum despite ceasefire extension
Strikes from the air, tanks and artillery shook Sudan’s capital of Khartoum on Friday and a heavy bombardment pounded the adjacent city of Bahri, witnesses said, even though the army and a rival paramilitary force agreed to extend a truce by 72 hours.
In persisting ceasefire violations that the US called worrying, heavy gunfire and detonations rattled residential neighbourhoods of the capital region where fighting has been concentrated over the past week.
Thick smoke was rising above two areas of Bahri, a Reuters reporter said.
“The situation this morning is very scary. We hear the sounds of planes and explosions. We don’t know when this hell will end,” said Bahri resident Mahasin al-Awad, 65. “We’re in a constant state of fear for ourselves and our children.”
Sudan’s army has been directing airstrikes with fighter jets or drones on RSF forces spread out in neighbourhoods across the capital.
In a statement on Friday, the RSF accused the army of violating the truce pact by carrying out airstrikes on its bases in Omdurman, Khartoum’s sister city across the Nile, and Mount Awliya.
Updated
Turkey confirms evacuation plane landing at Wadi Seidna was shot at, reports no injuries
Turkey’s defence ministry has confirmed that a plane landing at Wadi Seidna airstrip was shot at. A defence ministry statement on Twitter read:
Light weapons were fired on our C-130 evacuation plane, which was going to Wadi Seidna for the mission of evacuating our citizens who were stuck in Sudan, where the clashes continued. Our plane landed safely. Although there are no injuries in our personnel, necessary checks are being carried out on our aircraft.
Çatışmaların devam ettiği Sudan’da mahsur kalan vatandaşlarımızı tahliye görevi için Wadi Sayidna’ya giden C-130 tahliye uçağımıza hafif silahla ateş açılmıştır. Uçağımız emniyetle inişini gerçekleştirmiştir. Personelimizde yaralanan olmamakla birlikte uçağımızda da gerekli…
— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) April 28, 2023
Earlier, the Sudanese army claimed that the plane had been fired upon by the RSF, and that a member of the crew had been injured and the plane damaged.
Updated
The South Sudanese ambassador to the UK, Agnes Oswaha, has warned that her country will need more finanical aid to help cope with an expected influx of refugees from neighbouring Sudan. Appearing on Sky News, she told viewers:
For example, we have refugees who are South Sudanese who reside in the Sudan, and we have the Sudanese citizens. So now they are fleeing, most of them are fleeing. We’re willing to receive them. They’re our brothers and sisters.
She said that 10,000 people had already crossed the border.
Asked if South Sudan could cope, Oswaha said “we’ll be able to do so with the support of the region and the international community,” adding “that’s why I’m asking for help. So that the development partners in South Sudan are able to increase their support in order for us to meet the demand for the refugees.”
Of the situation on the ground in Khartoum and elsewhere in Sudan, Oswaha said:
People are starving and with these ceasefires, the cessation of hostilities, it will give them a chance to get some food and water. However, there are those who are sick. So some of them might have already died due to lack of access to medical attention. We really hope the cessation of hostilities will continue so that the international community could respond.
For us as the government of South Sudan, we are hoping that this situation could be contained as soon as possible, and not let it grow, to get out of hand.
We are hopeful that the two warring parties will be able to pursue peace, and to put the interests of the Sudanese population ahead of their personal interest.
Sudan's army claims RSF shot at Turkish evacuation plane landing at Wadi Seidna
Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) shot at a Turkish evacuation plane as it was landing at Wadi Seidna airport outside Khartoum on Friday, wounding a crew member and damaging the fuel supply, Reuters reports Sudan’s army said.
The plane landed safely and is being fixed, Sudan’s army added in its statement. The airbase has been used as the main point of air evacuation from Sudan.
The claims have not been independently verified.
The US embassy in Khartoum has overnight reminded US citizens in Sudan to register in order to be informed of opportunities to evacuate when they arise. The US has previously evacuated its diplomatic staff from the country.
U.S. citizens should complete this form to be informed of opportunities to leave Sudan as security conditions permit: https://t.co/k3JfBP1AHh. You do not need to complete this form again if you have already submitted information for you or your U.S. citizen family members.
— U.S. Embassy Khartoum (@USEmbassyKRT) April 28, 2023
The Sky News Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall has reported from Larnaca airport that the extended 72-hour ceasefire gives international partners a chance to press for a longer-lasting peace, and that the emphasis on aid efforts might switch from getting people out of Sudan to getting supplies in. He told viewers:
I think, as many people predicted, it went quite close to the line before both sides came to an agreement that there should be a lull, or at least a lull of sorts, in the fighting. So that is good news.
Now what needs to happen is that the evacuation flights need to continue apace to get as many people out as possible. But also, I think what you’ll find, is that the foreign diplomatic community tries to bring together the two factions, in order to find something more long lasting and stable, rather than these sort of multiple iterations of 72 hours that have got people living on edge.
It is not just about getting people out of the country. What really needs to also happen now is to get things like food, water and medicine into the country, because that is all becoming dangerously short.
Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has issued a statement this morning through their social media channels which accuses the Sudanese army of continuing to break the ceasefire. It writes, in part:
The coup leaders of the armed forces and the remnants of the former regime violated the truce since the early morning by attacking the positions of our forces with aircraft and cannon in both the base of Jabal Awlia and Omdurman, and the planes are still flying … which causes obstruction of the movement of diplomatic missions that are working to evacuate their nationals.
In this regard, we note that the continuous violations of the truce by the putschists caused confusion among citizens, who relied heavily on the humanitarian truce to move to safe places and meet their basic needs. We would like to draw the attention of the parties to the initiative to these violations of the humanitarian truce.
The statement is presented in translation. The claims have not been independently verified.
The RSF was founded by former dictatorial ruler Omar al-Bashir to crush a rebellion in Darfur that began more than 20 years ago. The RSF was also known by the name of Janjaweed, which became associated with widespread atrocities.
In 2013, Bashir transformed the Janjaweed into a semi-organised paramilitary force and gave their leaders military ranks before deploying them to crush a rebellion in South Darfur, and then dispatching many to fight in the war in Yemen, and later Libya.
The RSF, led by Gen Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, also known as Hemedti, and the regular military forces under Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan cooperated to oust Bashir in 2019. The latest round of clashes erupted in the middle of April amid an apparent power struggle between the two factions of the military regime.
Reuters has a rundown this morning of some of the international efforts to evacuate foreign nationals from Sudan so far:
Egypt has evacuated a total of 5327 Egyptians, 2648 of which were evacuated on Thursday. In a separate statement on Thursday, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said some 16,000 people have crossed from Sudan to Egypt, including 14,000 Sudanese citizens.
Germany’s evacuation mission had brought a total of 500 people from more than 30 countries to safety, including Belgian, British, Dutch, Jordanian and US citizens as well as Germans.
France has so far evacuated a total of 936 people from Sudan. The foreign ministry said those evacuated included not only French nationals but also Britons, Americans, Canadians, Ethiopians, Dutch, Italians and Swedes.
Italy’s military planes flying from Djibouti evacuated 83 Italians and 13 others, including children and the Italian ambassador. Foreign minister Antonio Tajani said some Italian NGO workers and missionaries had decided to stay in Sudan.
The Netherlands’ foreign minister Wopke Hoekstra said about 100 Dutch nationals have been evacuated from Sudan since Sunday. Half left on four Dutch evacuation flights to Jordan, which also carried about 70 people from 14 other countries.
US forces had evacuated American and some foreign diplomats on Saturday.
Russia has not yet announced any evacuation of its embassy or its nationals from Khartoum.
Japan’s prime minister Fumio Kishida said all Japanese people who wished to leave have been evacuated. Forty-five left on Monday night on a Japanese military flight, and eight others left with the help of France and other groups, he said.
Switzerland has already shut its embassy and evacuated all Swiss staff and their families.
China said most Chinese nationals have been safely evacuated in groups to neighbouring countries. The defence ministry deployed naval ships to pick up and evacuate citizens on Wednesday.
India said more than 1,200 Indians evacuated from Sudan had arrived in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia as of Thursday, and would soon be repatriated to India.
Indonesia has received nearly 400 people out of 900 Indonesians who have been evacuated from Sudan, nearly 400 arrived back in Indonesia on Friday morning, the foreign ministry said.
Canada conducted its first evacuation operation in Sudan on Thursday, airlifting over 100 hundred people, including Canadians and other nationals. There are about 1,800 Canadians in Sudan, out of which about 700 have requested assistance from the foreign ministry.
Ukraine said it had rescued 87 of its citizens – most of them pilots, aircraft technicians and their families – among a total of 138 civilians, who also included citizens of Georgia and Peru.
Kenya’s foreign affairs ministry said on Thursday the government had evacuated 342 people who had arrived in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia from Port Sudan.
South Africa said it expected the last 12 of its nationals known to be in Sudan to have left on Tuesday.
Ruth Michaelson and Pjotr Sauer have this report for the Guardian today:
Securing a lasting ceasefire in Sudan is essential in order to limit the opportunity for malign outside actors to intervene in the fighting on a greater scale, former diplomats and analysts have said.
“The longer this goes on, the more likely it is that outside actors will start trying to back one general or another, hyper-charging this fight and turning it into a similar struggle to the situation in Libya or Syria,” said Jeffrey Feltman, a longtime diplomat and former US special envoy for the Horn of Africa.
“Sudan for many years was seen as a key area for food security in different Gulf states, without any regard for the civilian population who live there,” said Kristian Ulrichsen of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.
“Yet it’s seen as ripe for dealmaking at the very top level, so we’ve seen the empowerment and enrichment of state and non-state actors like Hemedti who have grown rich on these connections; in Hemedti’s case goldmining, with much of that gold shipped to the UAE for refining and then onward sales. It’s another critical node in the economic network that enabled him to become so influential.”
Read more of Ruth Michaelson and Pjotr Sauer’s report here: Malign actors could ‘hyper-charge’ Sudan conflict, say ex-envoys
Overnight, Alicia Kearns, the British Conservative MP who is chair of the foreign select committee in the House of Commons in London, has tweeted her relief at the extension of the ceasefire. She said:
This is a great relief, and gives some hope that a diplomatic solution may be found to prevent a resumption of violence long term.
This is a great relief, and gives some hope that a diplomatic solution may be found to prevent a resumption of violence long term. https://t.co/bU9NnjXMe2
— Alicia Kearns MP (@aliciakearns) April 28, 2023
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Here is a reminder, if you need it, of the evacuation route being operated by the UK. Planes are using RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus as a base to head for Wadi Seidna airstrip north of Khartoum in Sudan. Evacuees are then being carried back to Larnaca international airport, where they are being put on chartered planes to London Stansted. The RAF planes then return to Akrotiri to refuel, before making the journey again.
British evacuation flights expected to continue today
Alistair Bunkall, the Sky News Middle East correspondent, has reported from Larnaca airport that British evacuation flights are expected to continue today. He told viewers:
More flights have come in overnight, and they expect more flights to come into Cyprus today. So that ceasefire extension has given them a longer window in which trying to get people out.
Yesterday, they were very much operating on the basis that if the ceasefire didn’t hold, and fighting resumed, then they had to try and scramble to get as many people on to aircraft in the few hours that they had.
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Dan Sabbagh , Patrick Wintour and Alexandra Topping have our main overnight report on the latest situation in Sudan:
Britain said it had evacuated nearly 900 people from Sudan and was hoping to continue evacuation flights overnight, although violence flared as the country’s warring factions agreed to extend a ceasefire.
The foreign secretary was under pressure over a refusal to allow Britons trying to flee to take elderly parents with them, amid fears that renewed fighting between the army and paramilitaries could halt the airlift at any time.
James Cleverly told MPs on Thursday that the UK “will endeavour” to keep going with flights, but he advised Britons to try to make a risky journey to the airfield north of Khartoum from where the airlift was being conducted immediately.
A total of 897 people had been evacuated by the RAF by 6pm on Thursday, with two more flights leaving Sudan for a stopover in Cyprus during the day. The Foreign Office said “further flights” would be coming.
Read more here: UK says nearly 900 evacuated from Sudan amid hopes of further flights
Welcome and open summary …
Welcome to our continued live coverage of the crisis in Sudan, where the two warring factions have agreed to extend the fragile and partially observed ceasefire that was due to expire late on Thursday night for another 72 hours.
There have been multiple truce efforts since fighting broke out on 15 April between Sudan’s army led by Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary RSF commanded by his deputy-turned-rival, Gen Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, also known as Hemedti. All have ultimately failed so far.
But foreign representatives involved in seeking to quell the fighting have welcomed the extended ceasefire deal and urged full implementation.
In a joint statement, AFP reports the African Union, the United Nations, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Britain and the US applauded the two sides’ “readiness to engage in dialogue toward establishing a more durable cessation of hostilities and ensuring unimpeded humanitarian access”.
Despite the ceasefire, on Thursday warplanes flew over the capital’s northern suburbs as fighters on the ground exchanged artillery and heavy machine-gun fire, witnesses said. Fighting was also observed to have intensified in the Darfur region.
International efforts to evacuate foreign nationals stranded in Sudan continue.
I’m Martin Belam, and I will be bringing you rolling coverage of further developments today. You can get in touch with me at martin.belam@theguardian.com
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