China evacuates 940 citizens from conflict-hit Sudan

BEIJING

China has evacuated 940 citizens from conflict-torn Sudan amid ongoing clashes between the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), according to the country’s National Defense Ministry on Saturday.

Two Chinese People's Liberation Army naval vessels transported the Chinese citizens, as well as 231 foreigners to a port in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from Wednesday till Saturday, the ministry’s spokesperson Tan Kefei said in a statement.

"The Chinese military has always been the guardian of the people, and a staunch force to defend national sovereignty, security, and development interests," Tan added.

Earlier, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said a total of 1,300 Chinese citizens were evacuated from the African country.

At least 528 people have been killed and more than 4,500 injured in clashes between two rival generals, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, the commander of the armed forces, and Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of the RSF, since April 15, according to Sudan's Health Ministry.

A disagreement had been fomenting in recent months between the army and the paramilitary force over the latter's integration into the armed forces, a key condition of Sudan's transition agreement with political groups.

Sudan has been without a functioning government since October 2021, when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s transitional government and declared a state of emergency in a move decried by political forces as a “coup.”

Sudan’s transitional period, which started in August 2019 after the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir, was scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar