The shrinking security window is now closed: Canada is ending its air evacuations from Sudan, even though an estimated 230 Canadians and permanent residents still need help from the federal government to get out of the country embroiled in fighting for now 16 days.
At a press briefing on Sunday morning, National Defense Minister Anita Anand confirmed that two Canadian planes left Sudan on Saturday with 205 people, including 60 Canadians, on board.
Adding those that took place on Thursday and Friday, Canada will have conducted six extraction flights in Sudan. In total, some 400 Canadians and permanent residents have managed to leave the country as of Sunday morning, whether on these flights or by other means.
However, due to “volatile, dangerous and unpredictable” security conditions near the Wadi Seidna airfield, from where the Canadian aircraft took off, Minister Anand confirmed that no further flights are planned for the instant.
“However, our work is not done, and the Government of Canada is working with its allies to find other ways for its citizens to leave the country,” she said.
The government is turning its attention in particular to Port-Sudan, where the situation could make it possible to carry out evacuation operations by sea and land. Two Canadian naval vessels, HMCS Montreal and MV Asterix, are always stationed nearby and are ready to intervene if necessary.
Canada is also weighing the option of joining the bus convoys organized by its allies, including the United States, although this path presents its share of risks to be considered.
“Evacuation by road from [la capitale] Khartoum takes 30 hours and involves several risks along the way, so not everyone can do this,” said Director General and Chief Security Officer of Global Affairs Canada, Sébastien Beaulieu.
The Chief of the Defense Staff, General Wayne Eyre, nevertheless confirmed that places had been offered by the United States for Canadians stuck in Sudan in the convoys. Two trips have already managed to leave the country, and “several more” are planned.
Even if Canadian flights cease, Minister Anand assured that the federal government will deploy all necessary means to offer assistance to the 230 Canadians who have informed the government that they need support or information.
“Our top priority remains the safe return of our fellow Canadians. We continue to work hard to achieve this,” she said.
Pretty in the field
In addition, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, will spend the next few days in Kenya to orchestrate Canada’s response to the crisis in Sudan.
In particular, the Minister must meet people who have been evacuated from the country, as well as diplomatic personnel who worked there until the start of the clashes.
“Kenya has played a key leadership role throughout this crisis — responding to the humanitarian needs generated by the conflict in Sudan and helping to lead efforts towards a peaceful solution,” Mr.me Joly in an email sent Saturday to The Canadian Press.
Mme Joly is also expected to speak with humanitarian groups to better understand the needs of people in Sudan, as well as those who have fled to neighboring countries, in this time of crisis.
She also plans to meet former Sudanese prime minister Abdalla Hamdok, the country’s only civilian leader in decades, who was overthrown in a coup in 2021.
According to the office of Mme Joly, the Minister’s trip is similar to her visit to Poland shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Arrival of humanitarian aid
For 16 days now, fighting between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, a powerful paramilitary group, has left 528 dead and 4,500 injured in Sudan, according to data from the Sudanese Ministry of Health.
On Sunday, a plane carrying eight tonnes of emergency medical aid materials landed in Sudan to resupply the country’s devastated hospitals.
More than two-thirds of hospitals in areas where fighting is taking place are out of service, according to a national association of doctors, citing shortages of medical supplies, staff, water and electricity.
On Sunday, the plane carrying the medical aid took off from Jordan and landed in Port Sudan, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said.
The delivery, which includes anesthetics, dressings and other surgical materials, is enough to treat more than 1,000 people injured in the conflict, the ICRC said.
With Dylan Robertson and the Associated Press