First Canadian Evacuation Flight Leaves Sudan, More Flights Planned for Coming Days

The first Canadian evacuation flight from Sudan has taken off and more Canadians will be evacuated over the next few days. Defence Minister Anita Anand shared the news and said that the Canadian military is operating in a volatile situation in Sudan.

With Sudan struck with violence over the power struggle between the Sudanese Army, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan. People from different countries are trapped in Sudan and have asked their governments to help them evacuate. There are about 1,800 Canadian citizens in Sudan and about 700 people have asked for the government’s help to leave the country.

Defence Minister Anita Anand has not shared that the first evacuation flight, the Hercules search-and-rescue plane, has taken off from Sudan. She also said that more flights are planned in the coming days using two such aircraft that are already in the region.

According to a report, officials have stated that it is unlikely that these rescue operations will be carried out after this week.

Even though a United States-brokered cease-fire in Sudan was in place, gunfire and loud explosions erupted in Khartoum, the capital. Over the past two weeks, more than 400 people have lost their lives. Because of the upset in the country, the Canadian military is operating in a volatile situation, Anand added.

Recently, India’s naval ship INS Sumedha has collected the first batch of 278 Indians stranded in Sudan. The plan is to safely evacuate over 3,000 Indian citizens located throughout Sudan.

Vineet Washington