The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has sent the MFA’s emergency unit to Djibouti. The team consists of experienced diplomats who will work to evacuate Norwegian citizens from Sudan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs news. They are also in place to ensure coordination and cooperation with other countries. They have good experience from similar situations, says the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Among other things, with the evacuation work in Kabul, Afghanistan two years ago. Endre Stiansen, Norway’s ambassador to Sudan, was evacuated together with two other diplomats. Photo: UN association Norwegian diplomats evacuated Around 80 Norwegian citizens are registered in Sudan. These are primarily Norwegian-Sudanese who live in and around the capital Khartoum. On Sunday, it became known that the three Norwegian diplomats, who all served in Sudan, were evacuated. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs news that the evacuation took place in cooperation with other countries. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will not say anything about the country concerned, or the evacuation itself, other than that it was not undramatic. When asked why it was Norwegian diplomats who were evacuated first, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs replies that there are several reasons for that: Logistically, it was easiest to evacuate them first, in what was not a safe job, says the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In order for the Foreign Ministry to be able to provide assistance to Norwegian citizens, the safety of their employees must come first, they write in an e-mail to news. – As an employer of employees in risk-prone countries such as Sudan, we are obliged to do everything possible to ensure the safety of our colleagues. That our employees are confident that we give their safety a high priority is a prerequisite for us not being able to send Norwegian diplomats to such countries, writes Guri Solberg in the Foreign Ministry. Several countries evacuate During the weekend, more than 1,000 EU citizens have been evacuated from Sudan, according to EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell. On the night of Sunday, American diplomats were evacuated from the war-torn capital, Khartoum. Soon after, the Americans started work on extracting foreign diplomats and citizens, while fighting was taking place around them. The New York Times writes. The newspaper writes that a team consisting of soldiers from the Navy Seals evacuated around 90 people onto a plane bound for Djibouti. A few hours later, a UN convoy drove out of the city. They drove to Port Sudan on the Red Sea. From there, British and French diplomats flew out of the country from an airport outside the city. Other groups traveled to El-Gadarif, a small town near the border with Ethiopia. Saudi Arabia a boat that evacuated their diplomats across the Red Sea, home to Saudi Arabia. The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has evacuated 15 Danish citizens from Sudan on the night of Monday. They will arrive in Djibouti on Monday morning. Sweden evacuated 25 Swedes via Djibouti on the night of Monday. 388 people have so far been taken out of Sudan in the French evacuation operation, the French government says. Germany has so far evacuated over 300 people from Sudan, and on Monday morning the first plane landed in Berlin, with 101 people on board. Facts about the fighting in Sudan * On 15 April, fighting broke out in Sudan’s capital Khartoum between the government army and the former pro-government paramilitary group RSF. * On the same day, fighting breaks out in Darfur in the west of the country. * The conflict is between the country’s two top military leaders, both part of the military junta that has led the country since the coup in 2021: Army chief and junta leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who was Burhan’s second-in-command. * Before the fighting broke out, negotiations were underway to incorporate the RSF into the government army. * The RFS was formed in 2013 and has fought on behalf of Sudan in the Darfur region. * Tens of thousands of civilians are caught in the crossfire in Khartoum. On Thursday, close to 330 people were confirmed killed and at least 3,200 injured, according to the WHO. * Up to 20,000 people have fled from Darfur to Chad. Sources: WHO, AFP
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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent a special team to retrieve Norwegian citizens from Sudan – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
