The British PM, Rishi Sunak conducted a meeting of the emergency response committee on Saturday to discuss British nationals stuck in Sudan.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak conducted a meeting of the British government’s emergency response committee on Saturday, April 22, 2024, in order to assess the situation in Khartoum and decide on solutions. Among those attending the meeting was Defence Minister Ben Wallace.
On Saturday, the Sudanese army stated that they would evacuate foreign nationals from the city. This was amidst the chaos caused by armed clashes. Unverified videos had surfaced on social media that showed what seemed to be Sudanese Army helicopters and jets carrying close-air support actions against RSF (Rapid Support Forces), as well as troops, engaged in heavy fighting in the suburbs of Khartoum.
This has been going on for a week, alongside constant rumours of foreign nationals being caught in the crossfire. Both sides have promised in the past week to cease fire amid hundreds dead after the week, but this has not worked out.
The current situation with British nationals
The Sudanese Army in its statement mentioned that the United States, Britain, France, and China would all evacuate their diplomats and nationals from Khartoum in “the coming hours”.
On the same day, the Foreign Office changed its official advisory for British nationals in Sudan to indicate that “In the event of a ceasefire, any decision to move must be taken at individual risk.” This hints that ceasefire decisions by the belligerents might not be reliable.
According to the British government, they were “doing everything possible to support British nationals and diplomatic staff in Khartoum.” They also added they are ready “to prepare for a number of contingencies”.
Violence in Khartoum
There has been constant fighting in Sudan and specifically Khartoum over the past week between the Sudanese Army, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Fighting broke out on 15th April 2024, after the RSF mobilized their troops and carried out attacks on Sudanese Army positions. This came apparently after disagreements between the leadership of the two forces, especially regarding the change to democracy.
The Sudanese government declared the RSF a rebel organization and responded with airstrikes and helicopter strikes. As of April 21st, at least 400 people had been killed in the clashes. Both sides claimed to hold or have taken important government sites such as the Presidential Palace.
Who are the RSF?
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is a paramilitary group in Sudan which operated parallelly alongside the army. Its main task had been counterinsurgency and fighting rebels in the Darfur region of eastern Sudan, which has seen rebellion and insurgency for decades. The RSF evolved out of the Janjaweed, which was a militia formed to fight rebels and suppress civilians in Darfur. The RSF was organized more formally and hierarchically out of the more decentralized Janjaweed.
The Janjaweed and subsequently the RSF have been accused of gross human rights violations with the United States government in 2007 declaring its actions in Darfur a genocide against local African tribes.
The RSF is also alleged to have ties with the shadowy Wagner Group, a private military contractor (PMC) close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, which has been an arm of his foreign policy in recent times.
