Like the United States, Canada is preparing for a possible evacuation of personnel from its embassy in Sudan, confirmed Thursday at the Duty a source close to the Canadian diplomatic community, while this country in the Horn of Africa has been placed for six days at the heart of deadly tensions caused by a war of influence between two generals in power.
The Canadian diplomatic representation located in Khartoum, the capital, has been closed since the beginning of the week due to street fighting which has left more than 330 dead, mainly among civilians, and 3,200 injured since last Saturday. The preparations and mechanics of this evacuation by Canada were not detailed.
On Thursday, the United States said it would send additional American troops “to the region to secure and facilitate the eventual departure from Sudan of American embassy personnel, should circumstances dictate”, it said. summarized the Pentagon.
The Canadian Armed Forces have a dozen soldiers deployed since 2011 in South Sudan, a neighboring country, as part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in the region (UNMISS).
Deadly face-off
The Canadian Embassy in Khartoum joined its voice this week with that of the diplomatic representations of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, to condemn “unequivocally and in the strongest terms the continued violence – including attacks directed against civilians, diplomats and humanitarian actors – between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces”, while calling on “the parties to end to hostilities immediately and without preconditions”.
The two generals entered a deadly face-off after talks on the country’s transition to a civilian, rather than military, political regime failed. The shadow of Russia hangs over this crisis, with the Kremlin defending economic and geostrategic interests in the region.
Since Tuesday, two attempts at discussions between the belligerents aimed at obtaining a 24-hour ceasefire have ended in failure. And the prospect still remains uncertain, despite a new call for a truce “of at least three days” as Eid-Al-Fitr approaches, the holiday which marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, launched Thursday by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres following an online meeting held with officials from the African Union, Arab League and other regional organizations.
On Thursday, in his first public statement since the outbreak of the fighting, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane, head of the army which rules the country, rejected any idea of ”political discussion” with his opponent Mohamed Hamdane Daglo, known as “Hemedti ”, at the head of the paramilitary group of the Rapid Support Forces (FSR) to which he asked to stop “wanting to control the country”, otherwise it would be “crushed militarily”.
chaotic transition
The chaotic situation prevailing in Sudan has led to the closure and dysfunction of 70% of the 74 hospitals in Khartoum and the areas affected by the fighting”, according to the officials of these health establishments who speak of the absence of medicine to operate or fighters who took control of the scene by chasing away doctors and wounded.
In the capital, “children are sheltering in schools and daycare centers as fighting rages around them and children’s hospitals have been forced to evacuate as airstrikes approach”, according to the report. Unicef.
But living conditions remain difficult and dangerous for humanitarian organizations and diplomats on the ground. At the start of the fighting, three staff of the World Food Program (WFP) were killed in Darfur. On Monday, the European Union ambassador to Sudan, the Irishman Aidan O’Hara, was “attacked” in his private residence, denounced the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell, while an American diplomatic convoy was the target of shooting, the same day.
Between 10,000 and 20,000 people have fled ongoing fighting in Sudan since the start of this political crisis to find refuge in neighboring Chad, according to representatives of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). present at the border.
Sudan has been going through a delicate transition since the fall of dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019 under pressure from the streets and the army, which should lead to the holding of free elections. In October 2021, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane seized power in a coup, which continues to weaken the political and social climate in Sudan.
With Agence France-Presse