LAST UPDATE | 30 Apr 2023

OVER 200 IRISH citizens have now fled Sudan according to the Department of Foreign Affairs. 

Almost 30 have left over the weekend, as the country continues to be rocked by conflict.

Heavy fighting again rocked Sudan’s capital today as both sides announced the extension of an existing ceasefire for a further 72 hours – the latest of multiple truces that have largely been violated by both sides.

The Sudanese Armed Forces and the rival Rapid Support Forces both confirmed prolongation of a truce that was due to end at midnight (22:00 GMT), with the army saying the extension came due to “US and Saudi mediation”.

Tens of thousands have fled the bloody turmoil and a former prime minister warned of the “nightmare” risk of a descent into full-scale civil war.

“209 citizens and dependents have now been assisted to depart from Sudan,” the Department of Foreign Affairs told The Journal.

“A majority of those evacuated by air in recent days have been carried on flights operated by the UK into Cyprus. We are very grateful for this support.”

The department added that people continue to depart Sudan by other means, including land and sea, so it is not possible “to be definitive in these circumstances on the numbers of citizens remaining”.

Cyprus has withdrawn from the evacuation mission and the last flights from Sudan to the Mediterranean island will take place today, the department said.

“Ireland will maintain an enhanced multi-location consular presence in support of citizens remaining in Sudan. Consular assistance will continue to be provided on an ongoing basis from our consular teams in Dublin, Nairobi, Cairo, Amman, Riyadh and Addis Ababa.”

“Our embassies remain in close and ongoing contact with any citizens in Sudan who have requested assistance.”

“Due to continued uncertainty about the duration of the current ceasefire, and the generally volatile situation in Sudan, we advise citizens, if they judge it safe to do so, to give serious consideration to evacuation options as they become available.”

UK deadline

The final UK evacuation flight from Sudan departed from the Wadi Saeedna airfield near Khartoum at 10pm local time yesterday.

A statement on the Government’s foreign travel advice for Sudan website said: “The UK Government is no longer running evacuation flights from Wadi Saeedna airfield.”

The deadline for UK nationals to reach the site in order to be processed for the last flight passed at 12pm local time, after the Government confirmed it was winding down its rescue operation.

At least 1,888 people on 21 flights have been evacuated from Sudan – the vast majority of them British nationals and their dependents – but thousands more British citizens may remain. 

Clashes were reported around the army headquarters in central Khartoum, and the army also carried out airstrikes in the capital’s twin city of Omdurman across the Nile River.

Foreign nations have scrambled to evacuate thousands of their citizens by air, road and sea since the fighting plunged the poverty-stricken country into deadly turmoil on April 15.

Millions of Sudanese have endured crippling shortages of water, food and other basic supplies, while tens of thousands have fled to neighbouring countries, with more on their way.

Satellite images showed long bus convoys at the Egyptian border, while the UN said tens of thousands had escaped to Chad, South Sudan, Ethiopia and the Central African Republic.

The turmoil could deepen further in the power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Sudan’s former prime minister Abdalla Hamdok warned that the conflict could deteriorate into one of the world’s worst civil wars if not stopped early.

“God forbid if Sudan is to reach a point of civil war proper… Syria, Yemen, Libya will be a small play,” Hamdok told an event in Nairobi. ”I think it would be a nightmare for the world.”