German Military Plane with 101 Evacuees from Sudan Lands in Berlin

24 April 2023, Berlin: An Air Force Airbus lands at Berlin Brandenburg Airport with German citizens evacuated from Sudan. (dpa)
24 April 2023, Berlin: An Air Force Airbus lands at Berlin Brandenburg Airport with German citizens evacuated from Sudan. (dpa)
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German Military Plane with 101 Evacuees from Sudan Lands in Berlin

24 April 2023, Berlin: An Air Force Airbus lands at Berlin Brandenburg Airport with German citizens evacuated from Sudan. (dpa)
24 April 2023, Berlin: An Air Force Airbus lands at Berlin Brandenburg Airport with German citizens evacuated from Sudan. (dpa)

A German air force plane with 101 people evacuated from Sudan landed in Berlin early on Monday, as countries rushed to get their citizens out of Khartoum while a shaky ceasefire held in the Sudanese capital.

Sudan's sudden slide into conflict between the army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has stranded thousands of foreigners, including diplomats and aid workers.

The Luftwaffe has flown out 311 people so far from an airfield near Khartoum, the German military said, and the first batch was brought back to Berlin on Monday aboard an Airbus A321 from the Al Azrak base in Jordan, which is being used as a hub for the evacuation operation.

The German military did not provide a break-down of how many of those evacuated were German citizens or nationals from other countries.

The fighting in Sudan has triggered a humanitarian crisis in the impoverished country, where millions of people have been left without access to basic services.

At least 420 people have been killed since the fighting broke out on April 15, four years after long-ruling President Omar al-Bashir was toppled.

The army and RSF jointly staged a coup in 2021 but fell out during negotiations to integrate the two groups and form a civilian government, and their rivalry has raised the risk of a wider conflict that could draw in outside powers.



US Carries Out Strike in Iraq as Regional Tensions Worsen

Kataib Hezbollah fighters are seen at the site of an American strike in Hillah, Iraq in December 2023. (Reuters)
Kataib Hezbollah fighters are seen at the site of an American strike in Hillah, Iraq in December 2023. (Reuters)
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US Carries Out Strike in Iraq as Regional Tensions Worsen

Kataib Hezbollah fighters are seen at the site of an American strike in Hillah, Iraq in December 2023. (Reuters)
Kataib Hezbollah fighters are seen at the site of an American strike in Hillah, Iraq in December 2023. (Reuters)

The United States on Tuesday carried out a strike in Iraq in self defense, a US official told Reuters, as regional tensions rose after an Israeli airstrike in Beirut that Israel said killed Hezbollah's most senior commander.
It was not immediately clear if the US strike was the same as the blasts reported earlier at a base south of Baghdad for Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces, the official state security agency that includes several Iran-aligned armed groups.
Those blasts killed four people and injured three, according to police and medical sources.
In a statement after the blasts, the Popular Mobilization Forces made no accusation about who was responsible.
A US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the strike was carried out because of a threat to coalition forces based in Iraq. The official did not comment on any casualties.
Multiple rockets were launched toward Iraq's Ain al-Asad airbase housing US-led forces last week, US and Iraqi sources said, with no damage or casualties reported. US officials said none of the rockets hit the base.
It was the first known US strike in Iraq since February, when the US military launched airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against more than 85 targets linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard and the militias it backs.
Iraq, a rare ally of both Tehran and Washington which hosts 2,500 US troops and has Iran-backed militias linked to its security forces, has witnessed escalating tit-for-tat attacks since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in October.