KHARTOUM: Battles raging in Sudan have sparked several foreign evacuation operations to rescue their citizens or embassy staff by road, air and sea.
The main airport in the capital Khartoum has been the site of heavy fighting and is under the control of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that is battling the army.
Some evacuations are taking place from Port Sudan on the Red Sea, an 850 kilometre drive from Khartoum.
Saudi Arabia led the first reported successful evacuation with naval operations picking up more than 150 people including foreign diplomats and officials from Port Sudan on Saturday. Riyadh announced the "safe arrival" of 91 Saudi citizens and around 66 nationals from 12 other countries -- Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Tunisia, Pakistan, India, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, the Philipines, Canada and Burkina Faso.
On Sunday, the US military sent three Chinook helicopters to evacuate American embassy staff from Khartoum.
More than 100 US forces took part in the rescue to extract fewer than 100 people.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he ordered the evacuation of staff and their families due to the "serious and growing security risks" amid fighting that has already left hundreds dead and thousands wounded.
Several thousand US citizens including dual nationals are thought to remain in the country.
France also launched a "rapid evacuation operation" for its citizens and diplomatic staff, with some 250 French nationals believed to be in the country.
Other European citizens and those from "allied partner countries" would also be assisted, the foreign ministry said without giving further details.
In addition, the British army has evacuated UK embassy staff and their families from Sudan, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said.
"UK armed forces have completed a complex and rapid evacuation of British diplomats and their families from Sudan, amid a significant escalation in violence and threats to embassy staff," Sunak said.
Several other countries have also evacuated people including various nationalities while Indonesia said 43 citizens were sheltering inside the embassy compound in Khartoum.
Fighting between rival military units in Sudan continued on Sunday.
The number of civilians killed was rising daily, the committee said. However, there is not yet a complete overview of the extent of the casualties.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 413 people have lost their lives since the fighting began. — Agencies
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