APA – Kigali (Rwanda) – A group of Rwandan nationals is among hundreds of people evacuated over the weekend by French army personnel from volatile Sudan, a diplomatic source confirmed Monday.
The statement issued by the French Embassy in Kigali said that the evacuation plan was conducted in two rotations between Khartoum and Djibouti on April 23 and then in the morning of April 24 with a hundred people airlifted each time.
These rotations made it possible to evacuate 388 people, including French nationals and a significant number of citizens from other African countries including Burundi, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, South Africa and Sudan.
In a statement, the French government also reiterated its call to the warring sides to stop fighting and return to political dialogue.
All services remain fully mobilised to ensure new evacuations as soon as possible, the statement added.
The fighting that erupted in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere in the country earlier this month is a direct result of a vicious power struggle within the military leadership.
The fighting is between army units loyal to the de facto leader, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Special Forces, commanded by Sudan’s deputy leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti.
At least close to 500 people mainly civilians have been killed during the unrest.
CU/as/APA