Sudan Fighting: Switzerland Shuts Embassy In Khartoum As Death Reaches 420 People
Switzerland has closed its embassy in Khartoum and evacuated staff and their families over the security situation in Sudan, the Swiss foreign ministry said on Twitter.
“Our staff and their families have been evacuated and are safe,” Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis tweeted late on Sunday.
The Foreign Ministry said seven embassy staff and five accompanying people had been evacuated. They were in good health, with two people on their way to neighboring Ethiopia, and the rest evacuated to Djibouti with help from France.
“The exercise was made possible thanks to the collaboration with our partners, in particular France,” Cassis said.
Work was continuing to help Swiss nationals stuck in Sudan. The Swiss foreign ministry on Friday said that there were about 100 Swiss nationals registered in Sudan while others are thought to be visiting the Red Sea area as tourists.
The eruption of fighting more than a week ago between rival military factions has triggered a humanitarian crisis, killed 420 people, and trapped millions of Sudanese without access to basic services.
Thousands of foreigners, including diplomats and aid workers, have also been stranded and countries are working to evacuate their nationals.
France on Monday said it was continuing to evacuate people and has so far managed to evacuate 388 people.
A German air force plane with 101 people evacuated from Sudan landed in Berlin early on Monday while a shaky ceasefire was held in the Sudanese capital.
