Germany Forced to Halt Evacuation Mission from Sudan

Smoke rises behind buildings in Khartoum on April 19, 2023, as fighting between the army and paramilitaries raged for a fifth day after a 24-hour truce collapsed. (AFP)
Smoke rises behind buildings in Khartoum on April 19, 2023, as fighting between the army and paramilitaries raged for a fifth day after a 24-hour truce collapsed. (AFP)
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Germany Forced to Halt Evacuation Mission from Sudan

Smoke rises behind buildings in Khartoum on April 19, 2023, as fighting between the army and paramilitaries raged for a fifth day after a 24-hour truce collapsed. (AFP)
Smoke rises behind buildings in Khartoum on April 19, 2023, as fighting between the army and paramilitaries raged for a fifth day after a 24-hour truce collapsed. (AFP)

A mission by the German military to evacuate around 150 citizens from Sudan had to be halted on Wednesday due to fighting in the capital Khartoum, the Spiegel news magazine reported citing unnamed sources.

A spokesperson for the defense ministry declined to comment on the report. The foreign ministry did not immediately reply to an emailed request for comment.

Spiegel said the Luftwaffe air force had dispatched three A400M transport planes for the mission early on Wednesday. The planes had landed in Greece for a refueling stop.

The Bundeswehr military aborted the mission amid reports of renewed clashes and airstrikes in Khartoum, according to the report.

Fighting erupted in Sudan on Saturday, killing at least 185 people and derailing an internationally backed plan for a transition to civilian democracy in the country.

Foreign powers, including the United States, have pushed for a ceasefire between the army and paramilitary forces amid concerns over the increasingly dire humanitarian situation.



UN Seeks $6 Billion to Ease Hunger Catastrophe in Sudan

Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
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UN Seeks $6 Billion to Ease Hunger Catastrophe in Sudan

Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)
Displaced Sudanese, who fled the Zamzam camp, gather near the town of Tawila in North Darfur on February 14, 2025. (AFP)

UN officials on Monday asked for $6 billion for Sudan this year from donors to help ease what they called the world's worst ever hunger catastrophe and the mass displacement of people brought on by civil war.

The UN appeal represents a rise of more than 40% from last year's for Sudan at a time when aid budgets around the world are under strain, partly due to a pause in funding announced by US President Donald Trump last month that has affected life-saving programs across the globe.

The UN says the funds are necessary because the impact of the 22-month war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - that has already displaced a fifth of its population and stoked severe hunger among around half its population - looks set to worsen.

World Food Program chief Cindy McCain, speaking via video to a room full of diplomats in Geneva, said: "Sudan is now the epicenter of the world's largest and most severe hunger crisis ever."

She did not provide figures, but Sudan's total population currently stands at about 48 million people. Among previous world famines, the Bengal Famine of 1943 claimed between 2 million and 3 million lives, according to several estimates, while millions are believed to have died in the Great Chinese Famine of 1959-61.

Famine conditions have been reported in at least five locations in Sudan, including displacement camps in Darfur, a UN statement said, and this was set to worsen with continued fighting and the collapse of basic services.

"This is a humanitarian crisis that is truly unprecedented in its scale and its gravity and it demands a response unprecedented in scale and intent," UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said.

One of the famine-stricken camps was attacked by the RSF last week as the group tries to tighten its grip on its Darfur stronghold.

While some aid agencies say they have received waivers from Washington to provide aid in Sudan, uncertainty remains on the extent of coverage for providing famine relief.

The UN plan aims to reach nearly 21 million people within the country, making it the most ambitious humanitarian response so far for 2025, and requires $4.2 billion - the rest being for those displaced by the conflict.