France has evacuated 538 people, including 209 French, from Sudan, on the brink of chaos after ten days of deadly fighting between the army and paramilitaries, Emmanuel Macron announced on Tuesday.
The President of the Republic, who was speaking at the start of a defense and national security council at the Elysee Palace, also gave “reassuring news” from the French soldier injured during this evacuation operation, whose “life is no longer in danger”.
This soldier was injured during a reconnaissance mission between the aerodrome and the regrouping points of nationals, said the staff.
A French frigate has also just docked this Tuesday in Port Sudan in order to transfer to Jeddah “during the day or this night” some 500 United Nations personnel, according to the staff.
The Head of State praised “exceptional work in extremely difficult conditions” by “our armies, consular and diplomatic agents” and “mobilized internal security forces”, to carry out these evacuations which also concerned “nationals of partner countries, particularly in Africa, which had requested our assistance”.
France, like other countries, has mounted this evacuation operation since Sunday, organizing air rotations between Khartoum and Djibouti.
Emmanuel Macron thanked for “their good cooperation and constructive exchanges”, the two main protagonists of this conflict, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane, de facto leader of Sudan since the putsch of 2021, and his deputy who became a rival, General Mohamed Hamdane Daglo, who made these repatriations possible.
The President of the Republic also “warmly” thanked the President of Djibouti Ismaël Omar Guelleh and the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for their help in these evacuations.
A 72-hour ceasefire due to come into effect on Tuesday was reached in Sudan between the warring parties under the aegis of the United States, after 10 days of fighting that left hundreds dead and left tens of thousands inhabitants at the start.
France has closed its embassy in Khartoum “until further notice”, the foreign ministry announced on Monday.
el-dab/dch
25/04/2023 14:33:47 – Paris (AFP) – © 2023 AFP