As foreigners are evacuated from Sudan, who's been left behind?

Several countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the EU and the United States, have evacuated their citizens from Sudan amid the heavy fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
5 min read
24 April, 2023
Hundreds of foreigners have been evacuated from Sudan [KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP via Getty Images]

With fighting in Sudan showing no signs of abating and now entering a second week, thousands of foreigners remain trapped in the capital Khartoum where most of the violence has been centered.

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanes army are still battling to control Khartoum - a city of around 5 million people - with more than 420 people killed so far, according to the UN.

Diplomats and foreign nationals are frantically searching for escape routes out of Sudan, as the fighting intensifies with no guarantees that they will be able to get out of the country.

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has already warned that his government is "severly limited" in being able to provide assistance to the 4,000 British nationals stranded in Sudan.

 

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia led the first reported successful evacuations on Saturday, with naval operations picking up more than 150 people - including foreign diplomats and officials.

Riyadh later announced the "safe arrival" of 91 Saudi citizens and some 66 nationals from several other countries including Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, Egypt, Tunisia, Pakistan, India, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Canada and Burkina Faso.

Egypt

At least 177 Egyptian soldiers were evacuated from Sudan last week, according to the military, while those who remained were in the care of the Red Cross and the Egyptian embassy in Khartoum. 

On Sunday, Egypt's foreign ministry said that 436 of its citizens had left Sudan over land. 

Over 10,000 Egyptians are thought to live in Sudan.

map-Sudan-Khartoum-airport

Jordan

Jordanian officials said that four planes landed at Amman military airport carrying 343 evacuees from Port Sudan.

Authorities confirmed that they were in "continuous cooperation with the UAE and Saudi Arabia". Both countries have been accused of links to the RSF.

Lebanon

Around 60 Lebanese citizens were evacuated from Khartoum at the weekend, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday.

Most left Khartoum by road and were taken to Port Sudan, where they will return to Lebanon. 

Iraq

Iraq is working with other countries to help evacuate its citizens from Sudan. Fourteen Iraqis have been evacuated from the capital to Port Sudan so far, according to foreign ministry spokesperson Ahmed Al-Sahaf, while some nationals also travelled via Jordanian rescue flights. 

China

The Chinese foreign ministry organised a task force to rescue Chinese citizens from Sudan. Some personnel were evacuated to a neighbouring country on Monday, according to Chinese state media, but did not mention which. 

United Kingdom

The UK evacuated its diplomatic staff in Sudan and their dependents from Khartoum in "a complex and rapid" military operation, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Sunday. UK nationals remain in the country however, and fears are growing in the UK for their rescue. 

Member of Parliament Andrew Mitchell said around 2,000 UK nationals had registered at the British embassy in Khartoum, and said the government is "exploring every single possible way of getting them out". 

European Union

Over 1,000 EU citizens were evacuated from Sudan over the weekend, according to the bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Monday.

"It has been a complex operation and it has been a successful operation," he said.

Two French planes landed in Djibouti on Sunday after evacuating 200 people of multiple nationalities. On board were 25 Swedish citizens, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Monday, including foreign ministry staff and aid workers.

United States

All US government personnel, along with some diplomats from other countries, were rescued from Sudan by US special forces. The operation involved the use of helicopters that flew from a base in Djibouti and refuelled in Saudi Arabia. 

"Today, on my orders, the United States military conducted an operation to extract US government personnel from Khartoum," US President Joe Biden said on Sunday.

Fewer than 100 people were rescued, according to US officials. 

United Nations

The UN has pulled its international staff from Khartoum, temporarily relocating them to Port Sudan to be evacuated, according to Relief Web. Roughly 700 people working for the UN, international NGOs and various embassies have reached Port Sudan along with their dependents. 

Forty-three international UN-staff and 29 employees of international NGOs have also been evacuated from Darfur into neighbouring Chad, and further evacuations are expected. 

A few internationally recruited personnel, such as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General Volker Perthes, will remain in the country to work towards resolving the current crisis. Other UN staff will work remotely from neighbouring countries.