Sudan’s rapid descent into war has left world powers scrambling to evacuate thousands of foreigners, including diplomats and aid workers, who have become stranded in the north-east African country.
With Khartoum’s main international airport largely in ruins, air evacuations have been limited, with some governments attempting to use Port Sudan on the Red Sea as an escape route.
Here is what some countries have done to get nationals out:
Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states
Saudi Arabia carried out one of the first reported evacuations on Saturday, with naval ships picking up more than 150 people. Riyadh later announced the “safe arrival” of 91 Saudi citizens and about 66 nationals from 12 other countries, many from the Gulf and wider Middle East.
US
It was a US special forces operation at the weekend that triggered a rush by many other western countries to get their diplomatic staff out. During a lull in the fighting, American forces in Chinook helicopters took off from nearby Djibouti. They rescued dozens of people from Khartoum, spending less than an hour on the ground.
Britain
British armed forces successfully evacuated diplomatic staff and dependents from Khartoum on Sunday in a complex operation involving more than 1,200 military personnel under what officials said were “very challenging circumstances”.
Pressure is growing on London to rescue all of its nationals who are stuck and want to leave Sudan, which was once a British colony. Development minister Andrew Mitchell said there were believed to be about 2,000 British citizens in the capital.
EU
Several countries in the European Union coordinated their diplomatic evacuations. On Monday, the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said more than 1,000 EU citizens had been moved out.
Twenty-one diplomats from the EU’s mission in Khartoum were evacuated, and the EU ambassador, Aidan O’Hara, had been moved outside the capital to elsewhere in Sudan. Borrel said that O’Hara, who was assaulted last week at his residency, would remain in the country. “Yes, he had to stay there. The captain is the last one leaving the ship,” Borrel said.
France
France sent two planes to Khartoum, evacuating nearly 400 people, including French nationals but also citizens of other countries, particularly European ones but also people from states in Africa and Asia. A French national was wounded when unidentified gunfire hit a French convoy.
Germany
Germany’s air force has flown out 311 people so far on three planes from an airfield near Khartoum, the country’s military said. Berlin has said it had roughly 200 citizens in Sudan.
Italy
Italy said its nationals would be taken out of Sudan on Sunday night along with some people from Switzerland, Vatican City and other European countries.
Jordan
Jordan said four planes carrying 343 people, including Jordanian nationals and residents of Palestine, Iraq, Syria and Germany, had departed Sudan. Several countries have used airbases in Jordan to send aircraft to Sudan.
Egypt
Egypt said it evacuated 436 of its nationals out of about 10,000 in neighbouring Sudan. One of Cairo’s diplomats had been wounded by gunfire.
Last week, the paramilitary force fighting Sudan’s army released more than 200 Egyptian soldiers it had captured. Cairo has said they were on a training mission signed under an agreement with the government before the conflict erupted, and denied taking sides.
Spain
Spain’s foreign ministry said a military plane carrying about 30 Spanish citizens and more than 70 people from other countries – Portugal, Italy, Poland, Ireland, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia and Argentina – had left Khartoum bound for Djibouti at 11pm on Sunday.
Turkey
Ankara began evacuations by road but said rescue plans from one site in Khartoum were postponed after a nearby “explosion”.
Yemen
Yemen’s foreign ministry said that all preparations had been completed for the evacuation of Yemenis from Khartoum to Port Sudan and then to Yemen. It added that the number of Yemenis who wanted to return to their country was 1,350.
Russia
Moscow’s ambassador in Khartoum has said that 140 of roughly 300 Russians in Sudan had said they wanted to leave. He added about 15 people, including a woman and child, were stuck in a Russian Orthodox church close to heavy fighting in the capital.
Nigeria
Nigeria has said it had asked for a safe corridor to evacuate 5,500 nationals, mostly students.
UN and aid workers
A convoy of about 65 vehicles carrying 700 international United Nations, NGO and embassy staff drove from Khartoum to Port Sudan on Sunday as part of the evacuations.
Other countries
India said it had sent a naval ship to Port Sudan and two military planes to Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia, as part of its preparations.
Tunisia said it would start evacuating citizens on Monday from Khartoum.
Japan said three planes had arrived in Djibouti to transport Japanese nationals.
Additional reporting by Sam Jones in Madrid and Jon Henley in Paris
