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British Nationals onboard an RAF aircraft in Akrotiri, Cyprus, are evacuated Wednesday from Sudan.
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Sudanese crowd at borders to escape amid shaky truce

Aaron Hoare/U.K. Ministry of Defense via AP

Sudanese crowd at borders to escape amid shaky truce

CAIRO — Sudanese families were massing Wednesday at a border crossing with Egypt and at a main port, desperately trying to escape their country’s violence and sometimes waiting for days with little food or shelter, witnesses said.

In the capital, Khartoum, the intensity of fighting eased on the second day of a three-day truce, and the military said it had “initially accepted” a diplomatic initiative to extend the current cease-fire for another three days after it expires Thursday.

The initiative, brokered by the eight-nation East Africa trade bloc known as the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, or IGAD, would also include direct negotiations between the military and the Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary group it has been battling since Apr. 15.

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There was no immediate comment from the RSF on the initiative, which, if accepted by both sides, would mark a major breakthrough in more than a week of intense international diplomacy.

Taking advantage of relative calm, many residents in Khartoum and the neighboring city of Omdurman emerged from their homes to seek food and water, lining up at bakeries or grocery stores, after days of being trapped inside by the fighting between the army and a rival paramilitary group. Some inspected shops or homes that had been destroyed or looted.

“There is a sense of calm in my area and neighborhoods,” said Mahasen Ali, a tea vendor who lives in Khartoum’s southern neighborhood of May. “But all are afraid of what’s next.”

Still, gunfire and explosions could be heard in the city, though residents said clashes were in more limited pockets, mainly around the military’s headquarters and the Republican Palace in central Khartoum and around bases in Omdurman across the Nile River.

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With the future of any truce uncertain, many took the opportunity to join the tens of thousands who have streamed out of the capital in recent days, trying to get out of the crossfire between the forces of Sudan's two top generals.

The generals’ war for power has pushed the population to a near breaking point. Food has grown more difficult to obtain, electricity is cut off across much of the capital and other cities, and many hospitals have shut down. Multiple aid agencies have had to suspend operations, a heavy blow in a country where a third of the population of 46 million relies on humanitarian assistance.

Many Sudanese fear the army and the RSF will escalate their battle once the international evacuations of foreigners that began Sunday is completed. The British government, whose airlift is one of the last still ongoing, said it has evacuated around 300 people on flights out and plans four more Wednesday, promising to keep going as long as possible.

Large numbers of people have meanwhile been making the exhausting 15-hour drive across the desert to access points out of the country — to the city of Port Sudan on the eastern Red Sea coast and to the Arqin crossing into Egypt at the northern border.

Crowds of Sudanese and foreigners also waited in Port Sudan, trying to register for a ferry to Saudi Arabia. Dallia Abdelmoniem, a Sudanese political commentator, said she and her family arrived Monday and have been trying every day to get a spot. “Priority was given to foreign nationals,” she told The Associated Press.

She and some of her extended family, mostly women and children, took a 26-hour bus journey to reach the port, during which they passed military checkpoints and small villages where people offered cold hibiscus juice and water to “Khartoum travelers.”

"These folk have very little, but they offered every single passenger on all these buses and trucks something to make their journey better,” she said.

At the Arqin crossing, families have been spending their nights outside in the desert, waiting to be let in to Egypt. Buses were lining up at the crossing.

“It’s a mess — long lines of elderly people, patients, women and children waiting in miserable conditions,” said Moaz al-Ser, a Sudanese teacher who arrived along with his wife and three children at the border a day earlier.

Tens of thousands of Khartoum residents have also fled to neighboring provinces or even into already existing displacement and refugee camps within Sudan that house victims of past conflicts.

Egypt said Wednesday it has relocated its embassy in Sudan amid increasing security threats in Khartoum, without disclosing the new location. An Egyptian administrator at the embassy was killed in Khartoum earlier this week. Egypt has close ties with the Sudanese military but has called on both sides to cease fire.

At least 512 people, including civilians and combatants, have been killed since the fighting erupted on Apr. 15, with another 4,200 wounded, the Sudanese Health Ministry said. The Doctors’ Syndicate, which tracks civilian casualties, said at least 295 civilians have been killed and 1,790 wounded.

The 72-hour cease-fire announced by Secretary of State Antony Blinken was to last until late Thursday. Many fear that fighting will only escalate once evacuations of foreigners, which appeared to be in their last stages, are completed.

But a senior British military officer said the U.K. evacuation operation could continue regardless of the cease-fire. Brig. Dan Reeve said conditions at the Wadi Saeedna airfield near Khartoum are “calm” and that the Sudanese armed forces have “good control” of the surrounding area.

Britain’s High Commissioner in Cyprus, Irfin Siddiq, said U.K. authorities have directly contacted 1,000 British nationals in Sudan to tell them to make their way to the airport. Cyprus’ Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said five flights from Sudan arrived Wednesday, with a total of 391 British nationals aboard.

A series of short cease-fires over the past week have either failed outright or brought only intermittent lulls that allowed evacuations of hundreds of foreigners by air and land. The two rival generals, army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan and RSF commander Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, have so far ignored calls for negotiations to end the crisis and appear to be seeking total victory.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that their power struggle is not only putting Sudan’s future at risk, “it is lighting a fuse that could detonate across borders, causing immense suffering for years, and setting development back by decades.”

Mr. Guterres cited reports of armed clashes across the country, with people fleeing their homes in Blue Nile and North Kordofan states and across Western Darfur as well. Joyce Msuya, the assistant secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, told the Security Council “there have been numerous reports of sexual and gender-based violence.”

Ms. Msuya said the U.N. has received reports “of tens of thousands of people arriving in the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, and South Sudan.”

In a separate development, Dr. Mike Ryan, emergencies chief at the World Health Organization, appeared to walk back concerns expressed a day earlier by the WHO representative in Sudan over fighters taking over a laboratory where pathogens are stored, including polio, measles and cholera.

Speaking to reporters in Geneva, Dr. Ryan said the main risk of exposure was to the fighters themselves. “The major risk to the health and welfare of the people of Sudan remains a conflict — and we need to keep the focus on that.”

Gen. Burhan and Gen. Dagalo rose to power after a popular uprising in 2019 prompted the generals to remove Sudan’s longtime autocratic ruler Omar al-Bashir. Sudanese since have been trying to bring a transition to democratic rule, but in 2021 Gen. Burhan and Gen. Dagalo joined forces in a coup that purged a transitional government. They fell out this month amid tensions over a new rough plan to re-introduce civilian rule.

Both the military and the RSF have a long history of brutalizing activists and protesters as well as other rights abuses.

Also on Wednesday, the military said al-Bashir was being held in a military-run hospital, giving its first official statement on his location since the fighting erupted. An attack on the prison where al-Bashir and many of his former officials had been held raised questions over his whereabouts.

In a statement, the military said al-Bashir, former Defense Minister Abdel-Rahim Muhammad Hussein and other former officials had been moved to the military-run Aliyaa hospital before clashes broke out across the country. Both al-Bashir and Hussein are wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes related to the Darfur conflict.

First Published: April 26, 2023, 4:54 p.m.

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British Nationals onboard an RAF aircraft in Akrotiri, Cyprus, are evacuated Wednesday from Sudan.  (Aaron Hoare/U.K. Ministry of Defense via AP)
A man walks by a house hit in recent fighting in Khartoum, Sudan, Tuesday, April 25, 2023. Sudan's warring generals have pledged to observe a new three-day truce that was brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia to try to pull Africa's third-largest nation from the abyss. (AP Photo/Marwan Ali)  (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
People walk by a house hit in recent fighting in Khartoum, Sudan, Tuesday, April 25, 2023. Sudan's warring generals have pledged to observe a new three-day truce that was brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia to try to pull Africa's third-largest nation from the abyss. (AP Photo/Marwan Ali)  (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Moroccan citizens repatriated from Sudan, arrive to the Mohammed V International Airport, in Casablanca, Morocco, Wednesday April 26, 2023. (AP Photo)  (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
A British military transport aircraft with approximately 79 British nationals aboard lands in Larnaca main airport, Cyprus, on Wednesday, April 26, 2023. Cyprus said it would offer its facilities to assist in the evacuation of British nationals from war-wracked Sudan, acting as a waystation until evacuees are repatriated. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)  (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
People evacuated from Sudan arrive on a flight from Cyprus into Stansted airport, England, Wednesday April 26, 2023. Around 1,400 military personnel are involved in the "large-scale" evacuation of UK nationals after a three-day ceasefire was agreed. (Paul Marriott/PA via AP)  (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
People exit a British military transport aircraft after arriving with approximately 79 British nationals at Larnaca main airport, Cyprus, on Wednesday, April 26, 2023. Cyprus said it would offer its facilities to assist in the evacuation of British nationals from war-wracked Sudan, acting as a waystation until evacuees are repatriated. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)  (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
A member of the Greek airforce holds a child as evacuees from Sudan disembark from a military plane at Tanagra air base, north of Athens on Wednesday, April 26, 2023. Sixteen Greeks and one Cypriot arrived in Greece after being evacuated from Sudan. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)  (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
People evacuated from Sudan arrive on a flight from Cyprus into Stansted airport, England, Wednesday April 26, 2023. Around 1,400 military personnel are involved in the "large-scale" evacuation of UK nationals after a three-day ceasefire was agreed. (Paul Marriott/PA via AP)  (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Passengers from Sudan disembark a military plane at Tanagra air base, north of Athens on Wednesday, April 26, 2023. Sixteen Greeks and one Cypriot arrived in Greece after being evacuated from Sudan. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)  (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
People evacuated from Sudan arrive on a flight from Cyprus into Stansted airport, England, Wednesday April 26, 2023. Around 1,400 military personnel are involved in the "large-scale" evacuation of UK nationals after a three-day ceasefire was agreed. (Paul Marriott/PA via AP)  (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
People wave from a bus after arriving in a military plane from Khartoum at the Houari-Boumediene airport in Algiers, Tuesday, April 25, 2023. An Algerian military plane evacuated 94 Algerian citizens but also Palestinians and Syrians people who lived in Sudan. Sudanese and foreigners streamed out of the capital of Khartoum and other battle zones, as fighting Tuesday shook a new three-day truce brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia. (AP Photo/Amine)  (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
In this handout image, provided by the UK Ministry of Defence, on Wednesday, April 26, 2023 British Nationals seen here departing an RAF aircraft in Akrotiri, Cyprus, after being evacuated from Sudan. On planes and warships, world powers evacuated more people from Sudan on Wednesday in complex international operations prompted by an eruption of fighting that has sent thousands of foreigners and many more Sudanese people fleeing for safety. (PO Phot Aaron Hoare/UK Ministry of Defence via AP)  (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
In this handout image, provided by the UK Ministry of Defence, on Wednesday, April 26, 2023 British Nationals seen here boarding an RAF aircraft in Akrotiri, Cyprus, after being evacuated from Sudan. On planes and warships, world powers evacuated more people from Sudan on Wednesday in complex international operations prompted by an eruption of fighting that has sent thousands of foreigners and many more Sudanese people fleeing for safety. (LPhot Mark Johnson/UK Ministry of Defence via AP)  (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Members of the media take photos as Moroccan citizens repatriated from Sudan, arrive to the Mohammed V International Airport, in Casablanca, Morocco, Wednesday April 26, 2023. (AP Photo)  (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
A civil defense member helps a woman with her children to a bus at the Joint Rescue Coordination Center adjacent to the island nation's main Larnaca airport after arriving with approximately 40 British nationals aboard. U.K. military transport aircraft in Larnaca, Cyprus, Tuesday, April 25, 2023. Cyprus said it would offer its facilities to assist in the evacuation of British nationals from war-wracked Sudan, acting as a waystation until evacuees are repatriated. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)  (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
French military spokesperson, Col. Pierre Gaudilliere answers the Associated Press Wednesday, April 26, 2023 in Paris. Gaudilliere, said France has evacuated more than 500 civilians from 40 different nations by plane over the weekend after securing the airbase north of Khartoum Saturday, using its airbase in neighbouring Djibouti for the airlift. (AP Photo/Oleg Cetinic)  (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
FILE - In this image taken from video, Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir speaks at the Presidential Palace, Friday, Feb. 22, 2019, in Khartoum, Sudan. An attack on the prison holding Omar al-Bashir has raised questions about his whereabouts as the country's two top generals battle for power. The military says he is being held in a secure location, while the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces allege that he has been released. Al-Bashir, who ruled Sudan for three decades despite wars and sanctions, was overthrown during a popular uprising in 2019. (AP Photo/Mohamed Abuamrain, File)  (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
People disembark a military plane after arriving from Khartoum at the Houari-Boumediene airport in Algiers, Tuesday, April 25, 2023. An Algerian military plane evacuated 94 Algerian citizens but also Palestinians and Syrians people who lived in Sudan. Sudanese and foreigners streamed out of the capital of Khartoum and other battle zones, as fighting Tuesday shook a new three-day truce brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia. (AP Photo/Amine)  (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
In this handout image, provided by the UK Ministry of Defence, on Wednesday, April 26, 2023 British Nationals seen here about to board an RAF aircraft in Akrotiri, Cyprus, after being evacuated from Sudan. On planes and warships, world powers evacuated more people from Sudan on Wednesday in complex international operations prompted by an eruption of fighting that has sent thousands of foreigners and many more Sudanese people fleeing for safety. (LPhot Mark Johnson/UK Ministry of Defence via AP)  (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
A woman looks out of the window of a bus at Cyprus' Joint Rescue Coordination Center adjacent to the island nation's main Larnaca airport that will transport approximately 40 British nationals evacuated from Sudan to accommodations on the island nation before their repatriation, in Larnaca, Cyprus, Tuesday, April 25, 2023. Cyprus said it would offer its facilities to assist in the evacuation of British nationals from war-wracked Sudan, acting as a waystation until evacuees are repatriated. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)  (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Passengers from Sudan disembark from a military plane at Tanagra air base, north of Athens, Wednesday, April 26, 2023. Sixteen Greeks and one Cypriot arrived in Greece after being evacuated from Sudan. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)  (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Moroccan citizens repatriated from Sudan, arrive to the Mohammed V International Airport, in Casablanca, Morocco, Wednesday April 26, 2023. (AP Photo)  (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
A man walks by a house hit in recent fighting in Khartoum, Sudan, Tuesday, April 25, 2023. Sudan's warring generals have pledged to observe a new three-day truce that was brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia to try to pull Africa's third-largest nation from the abyss. (AP Photo/Marwan Ali)  (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
A woman holds her child as a man stands at Cyprus' Joint Rescue Coordination Center, after arriving with approximately 40 British nationals aboard U.K military transport aircraft, in Larnaca, Cyprus Tuesday, April 25, 2023. Cyprus said it would offer its facilities to assist in the evacuation of British nationals from war-wracked Sudan, acting as a waystation until evacuees are repatriated. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)  (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Aaron Hoare/U.K. Ministry of Defense via AP
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