The BBC reported “chaos” at Port Sudan, even hours after midnight on Sunday, as thousands of foreigners and Sudanese frantically tried to get out of the country before vicious warfare between rival junta factions resumed in earnest.
Even the ostensible ceasefire negotiated last week, and extended for another 72 hours on Monday, has not prevented heavy fighting around the capital city of Khartoum.
Sudanese sources told the BBC that Port Sudan is “overwhelmed” by terrified refugees, who are “sleeping rough on the streets” as they hope for space on any departing ship. About 3,000 Yemeni students have been living at the port for weeks, hoping for a spot on Saudi Arabian ships that have agreed to rescue a modest number of them.
The Saudis are nervous about taking on large numbers of Yemenis because they have been fighting against the Iran-backed Houthi insurgents who overthrew Yemen’s internationally-recognized government in 2014. Yemeni students rescued from Sudan by Saudi ships were reportedly told they are only allowed to linger in Saudi Arabia for a few days.
Sudanese citizens are also having great difficulty escaping from the country, as each of the warring junta factions — the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) under Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the brutal RSF militia led by his former coup partner, Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo — is supported by competing foreign powers.
Residents of Khartoum and Omdurman, Sudan’s other major city, reported explosions and gunfire throughout the weekend despite the extended ceasefire agreement. Sudanese doctors reported at least 74 casualties over the weekend. One Sudanese doctor told foreign media that RSF fighters are abducting medical personnel and forcing them to care for injured militia fighters.
On Monday, both the SAF and RSF grudgingly agreed to extend the dubious “ceasefire” for another 72 hours to allow safe passage for refugees and accommodate humanitarian efforts. Both Burhan and Hemedti said they would not negotiate with each other. Hemedti vowed Monday he would either bring Burhan to “justice” for crimes against the Sudanese people or deliver him “to the cemetery.”
The United Nations on Monday expected over 800,000 people to flee the country and warned of an unprecedented humanitarian disaster as food, medicine, fuel, and power were cut off from much of the population.
“The scale and speed of what is unfolding in Sudan is unprecedented,” U.N. humanitarian official Martin Griffiths said.
Several nations announced the end of evacuation efforts over the weekend, citing the deteriorating security situation, with especially heavy fighting reported near the airport in Khartoum. Residents reported both warplanes and anti-aircraft weapons firing across Khartoum during the “ceasefire.” A Turkish evacuation plane was fired upon and reportedly damaged while landing at the Wadi Seidna airport on Friday but was able to land safely.
The Turkish Defense Ministry said efforts to rescue Turkish citizens from Sudan would continue, but Canada announced on Sunday that “no further Canadian flights are planned from the Wadi Seidna airfield” due to the “dangerous conditions.”
The United Kingdom announced the conclusion of the “longest and largest evacuation effort of any Western country” on Saturday, with over 2,100 people evacuated from Khartoum, although there was some controversy last week over foreign doctors who worked for the British National Health Service being turned away from evacuation flights because only British passport holders were accepted. The British government arranged an extra evacuation flight from Port Sudan on Monday but said the Wadi Seidna airport in Khartoum has become too dangerous to use.
After two weeks of intense criticism and desperate pleas from family members, the Biden administration finally arranged an evacuation for American private citizens on Saturday, ferrying about 300 people by bus to Port Sudan under heavy air cover by drones. No U.S. officials were on the ground for the evacuation operation.