Sudan Evacuations Speed Up during Fighting Lull

Spanish military plane and military vehicles are seen departing on tarmac as Spanish diplomatic personnel and citizens are evacuated, in Khartoum, Sudan, April 23, 2023. (Spanish Defense Ministry Handout/Handout via Reuters)
Spanish military plane and military vehicles are seen departing on tarmac as Spanish diplomatic personnel and citizens are evacuated, in Khartoum, Sudan, April 23, 2023. (Spanish Defense Ministry Handout/Handout via Reuters)
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Sudan Evacuations Speed Up during Fighting Lull

Spanish military plane and military vehicles are seen departing on tarmac as Spanish diplomatic personnel and citizens are evacuated, in Khartoum, Sudan, April 23, 2023. (Spanish Defense Ministry Handout/Handout via Reuters)
Spanish military plane and military vehicles are seen departing on tarmac as Spanish diplomatic personnel and citizens are evacuated, in Khartoum, Sudan, April 23, 2023. (Spanish Defense Ministry Handout/Handout via Reuters)

European nations, China and others from around the world raced to extract thousands of their citizens from Khartoum on Monday during an apparent lull in fierce fighting between the army and Rapid Response Forces (RSF).

The sudden eruption of violence between the military and the RSF paramilitary group on April 15 has triggered a humanitarian crisis and killed 420 people.

Along with millions of Sudanese without access to basic services and trapped in their homes, thousands of foreign diplomats, aid workers, students and their families found themselves stuck in a war zone last week.

Fighter jets have bombed the capital, the main airport has been at the center of fighting and artillery barrages have made movement unsafe in and out of one of Africa's largest cities. Diplomats have been targeted in attacks, and at least five aid workers killed.

Despite sustained pressure from countries concerned by the conflict's wider repercussions as well as the safety of their nationals, the two sides have not abided by a temporary truce.

However, fighting calmed enough over the weekend for the United States to get embassy staff out by military helicopter, triggering a rush of evacuations by other countries.

At least two convoys involved in the evacuations came under attack, including one carrying Qatari embassy staff, and another carrying French citizens, one of whom was injured.

France and Germany on Monday said they had evacuated around 700 people, without giving a breakdown of their nationalities. A German air force plane carrying evacuees landed in Berlin early on Monday.

Several countries sent military planes from Djibouti to fly people out from the capital, while other operations took people by convoy to Port Sudan on the Red Sea, which is about 800 km (500 miles) by road from Khartoum. From there some have boarded ships to Saudi Arabia.

Indonesia said so far more than 500 of its citizens had been evacuated to the port, and were awaiting transport to Jeddah, across the Red Sea.

China, Denmark, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Sweden also said they had got nationals out, while Japan said it was preparing to send an evacuation team from Djibouti.

A convoy of about 65 vehicles carrying some 700 international United Nations, NGO and embassy staff and their dependents drove from Khartoum to Port Sudan on Sunday as part of the evacuations, a diplomatic source said.

The evacuation of international staff from Darfur, the western region where fighting has also escalated, is also under way, with some heading to Chad and others to South Sudan, the source said.

The fighting in Sudan has closed most hospitals and curtailed water and electricity supplies. The killing of aid workers, including three from the World Food Program, has led the UN agency to pause its operations in the country, which relies on food aid for about a quarter of its people.

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 four years after long-ruling President Omar al-Bashir was toppled.

Their rivalry has raised the risk of a wider conflict that could draw in outside powers.

Beyond the capital, people are reported to have fled clashes in several regions including Darfur's three states, Blue Nile State on the border with Ethiopia and South Sudan, and North Kordofan State southwest of Khartoum, according to a UN update on Monday.



Trump Says Must End Conflict in Lebanon

 Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump reacts after complaining about its sound during a campaign in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US November 1, 2024. (Reuters)
Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump reacts after complaining about its sound during a campaign in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US November 1, 2024. (Reuters)
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Trump Says Must End Conflict in Lebanon

 Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump reacts after complaining about its sound during a campaign in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US November 1, 2024. (Reuters)
Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump reacts after complaining about its sound during a campaign in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US November 1, 2024. (Reuters)

Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump on Friday, speaking to an audience including Arab Americans in the battleground state of Michigan, said it was time to get the Israel-Lebanon conflict over with.

"I know many people from Lebanon and we have to get this whole thing over with," he said.

Trump on Friday met with Arab Americans in Dearborn, Michigan — the nation’s largest Arab-majority city — as the Republican presidential nominee works to court the potentially decisive group despite his history of Islamophobic rhetoric and policy.

Trump was greeted with cheers and applause from a modest crowd at The Great Commoner restaurant in one of his campaign’s final attempts to garner support in the key battleground state.

Metro Detroit is home to the nation’s largest concentration of Arab Americans, with a large chunk of them living in Dearborn. The city — which Democrat Joe Biden won by a 3-to-1 margin in 2020 — has been roiled by political turmoil, with many upset with the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.

Democrats worry that anger over the war will lead traditionally loyal voters to shift their votes to Trump or third-party candidates like Jill Stein — or skip the top of the ballot altogether. This could prove pivotal in Michigan, a state both parties see as a toss-up.

While the Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, has been working through surrogates to ease community tensions, Trump’s visit marked the first by either candidate, according to a local leader, Osama Siblani. Earlier this year, Harris met with the city’s Democratic mayor, Abdullah Hammoud, though their discussion took place outside Dearborn.

The meeting with Arab supporters Friday follows Trump’s rally in Michigan last week, when he brought local Muslims up onstage with him. Trump has also received endorsements from two Democratic mayors of Muslim-majority cities.

"It is time to prioritize our nation’s best interests and foster lasting peace for all," Albert Abbas, an Arab American, said Friday while standing next to Trump. "This current administration has failed miserably in all aspects of humanity."

He added, "We look to a Trump presidency with hope and envisioning a time where peace flourishes, particularly in Lebanon and Palestine."

While many Democratic leaders in the Arab community have not endorsed Harris, they are still deeply negative toward Trump and say his endorsements don’t reflect a majority of the community. They remember his call for a "total and complete shutdown" on Muslims entering the country and his travel restrictions on visitors from Muslim-majority countries. And some point out that Trump has suggested he would give Israel even more leeway to attack its rivals in the region.

Top community leaders in Dearborn, including Hammoud, declined an invitation to meet with Trump while he was in town. Many community leaders say that while Harris has never earned their endorsement, they are still overwhelmingly opposed to Trump.

Siblani, a prominent figure in the community who has engaged with Democratic leaders about ongoing tensions, noted that many "do not trust" Trump because of his past policies and remarks. However, he emphasized the significance of Trump’s visit to Dearborn.

"Kamala should have done this months ago," Siblani said.

Harris defended her record on the issue Friday, telling reporters that she’s "proud to have significant amount of support from the Arab American community," while adding that she continues to push for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages.

Israel invaded Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack and last month launched an invasion of Lebanon to suppress Hezbollah, the party that has continuously launched rockets into Israeli territory. At least 43,000 people have died in Gaza, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish in its death toll between combatants and civilians.

Abbas said Trump allies had reached out to him several weeks ago about hosting Trump in Dearborn. Before hosting Trump, Abbas said he wanted to see a statement from Trump that he said showed Trump "has the intentions of ending the war and helping us rebuild Lebanon and helping the displaced and the injured."

That statement came Wednesday, when Trump posted on X that he wanted to "stop the suffering and destruction in Lebanon."

"I will preserve the equal partnership among all Lebanese communities," Trump said on X. "Your friends and family in Lebanon deserve to live in peace, prosperity, and harmony with their neighbors, and that can only happen with peace and stability in the Middle East."

Once Trump put out the statement, Abbas said he agreed to host the event.