Conflicting parties give the green light for the evacuation of German citizens in Sudan.
After an announced ceasefire, fighting continues.
Conflict
in
Sudan
: over 100 Germans on site.
Fighting
continues
after
ceasefire : Khartoum bombed again
Failed
state of Sudan
: Experts see a situation similar to that in Libya.
This news ticker on the situation in Sudan is constantly updated.
Update from April 23, 7.30 a.m
.: In view of the heavy fighting in Sudan, the USA has withdrawn its government employees from the country and closed the US embassy in the capital Khartoum.
All US diplomats and their families were successfully brought to safety, the White House and the US State Department said on Sunday night (April 23).
Earlier, the Sudanese RSF militia said it had coordinated with the US military to fly out US embassy staff.
As a result of this vote, six US military aircraft took diplomats and their families out of the country on Sunday morning, the militia said on Twitter.
The RSF also agreed to work with other missions abroad to enable foreigners to "safely return to their countries".
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The US Embassy in Khartoum (stock image)
© Ashraf Shazly/AFP
Conflict in Sudan: Parties to the conflict give the green light for the evacuation of Germans
Update from April 22, 1:37 p.m .:
New hope for diplomats and German citizens in Sudan: After a failed evacuation campaign by the Bundeswehr on Wednesday (April 19), the opponents of the conflict have now apparently given the green light for evacuations.
According to the military, army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan pledged support in enabling foreign diplomats and citizens to leave the country safely.
The US, Britain, France and China would begin evacuations from Khartoum "in the coming hours".
The federal government is also preparing several options for an evacuation, as Foreign Minister Baerbock announced on Friday.
Burhan's rival, the head of the paramilitary RSF militia, also pledged to allow evacuations and to keep all airports partially open.
However, the international airport in the capital Khartoum is always the scene of battles - and the situation at other airports is also unclear.
Conflict in Sudan: Fighting continues after ceasefire
Update from April 22, 9:44 a.m .:
Fighting between rival military units continued in Sudan after a brief ceasefire overnight.
The capital Khartoum was bombed again on Saturday morning, said a reporter from the
German Press Agency
(dpa)
on site.
Gunshots were also heard.
Eyewitnesses reported explosions in Khartoum on Twitter.
A ceasefire that the conflicting parties agreed on Friday due to the celebrations to mark the end of the fasting month of Ramadan largely lasted through the night, the reporter said.
There were only "sporadic clashes".
Update from April 22, 6:41 a.m .:
According to media reports, Spain has sent two Air Force transport machines to evacuate its citizens and some other Europeans and Latin Americans from Sudan to Africa.
One of the two A400M military transporters has already landed in Djibouti on the Horn of Africa, state TV broadcaster
RTVE
and other Spanish media reported on Friday.
A third machine of the same type is ready in Spain.
Each of the military aircraft can transport more than 100 people.
There was initially no official confirmation.
News on fighting in Sudan: Armed forces announce ceasefire
Update from April 21, 7:26 p.m.:
The Sudanese armed forces announced their approval of a three-day ceasefire on Friday evening.
The ceasefire should come into force on Friday so that citizens can celebrate the holiday at the end of Ramadan, the army said in a Facebook message.
The military did not give an exact time for the start of a possible ceasefire.
There was initially no confirmation from the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Both sides had already agreed on a ceasefire several times in the past few days, but have so far broken it again and again.
Many Sudanese have been stuck in their homes, schools and other facilities for days.
According to the UN, thousands of people have no food or access to medical care.
A ceasefire is a crucial prerequisite for possible evacuation missions of foreign nationals in Sudan.
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Smoke rises above the Sudanese capital Khartoum.
The army announced a ceasefire on Friday evening.
© Uncredited/dpa
Fighting in Sudan: Bundeswehr prepares new evacuation mission
First report from April 21:
Khartoum – Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has called for an immediate end to violence in Sudan.
Regarding the conflict between the two rival generals, she said at a press conference with Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares on Friday: "Allow the people to receive much-needed aid." The two should resolve the conflict between themselves through negotiations, instead of "laying Sudan in ruins," the Greens politician demanded.
According to Baerbock, an immediate ceasefire is "the be-all and end-all" for an evacuation of the people in Sudan.
The federal government is working day and night to finally bring those affected to safety.
It is therefore a top priority to achieve a ceasefire over the holidays at the end of the Islamic month of fasting, Ramadan.
Conflict in Sudan: Over 100 Germans on site
Fighting broke out in Sudan on Saturday between the country's two most powerful generals and their units.
De facto President Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is also the supreme commander of the army, is fighting with the military against his deputy Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, the leader of the powerful paramilitary group RSF.
The two have led the country in northeast Africa with around 46 million inhabitants since a joint military coup in 2021. For years, power has been said to be handed over to a civilian government.
Preparations for another evacuation of German citizens from Sudan are underway, the German Press Agency reported on Friday.
"The Bundeswehr is preparing ways to repatriate German citizens and other persons to be protected from Sudan," said a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense on Friday when asked.
The priority here is the protection of German citizens in Sudan.
He did not give details of the scope, personnel and material of possible evacuation forces of the Bundeswehr.
Failed state: Experts see a situation similar to that in Libya
According to experts, the international community reacted too late to the conflict in Sudan.
The growing tensions between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been ignored for months.
Even after fighting broke out last Saturday, regional and international organizations and governments should have done more than call for a ceasefire.
The conflict in Sudan could put the country in a position similar to that of Libya, with the risk of a failed state.
They did "too little, too late" to stop the fighting, said Solomon Ayele Dersso, director of the Ethiopia-based think tank Amani Africa.
An earlier attempt at a diplomatic evacuation had to be abandoned because the security situation was too dangerous for such an operation.
More than 100 German citizens are expected.
(dpa/yec)
Rubric list image: © Ashraf Shazly/AFP