Canada ends evacuation flights from Sudan amid worsening violence

Evacuation flights to bring Canadians from Sudan have ended, the federal government said Saturday afternoon, amid heightened violence and the security situation.

The government said Canadians wishing to leave Sudan by road should consider going through Port Sudan, where there may be commercial options.

It advised against travel to Wadi Seidna airfield due to the “deteriorating security situation.”

Earlier Saturday, federal Defense Minister Anita Anand said efforts to bring Canadians from Sudan would continue for a long time.

He said at least one evacuation flight was planned by the Canadian military on Saturday. It will be the fifth to leave the Sudanese capital Khartoum since Thursday.

Hundreds left on Canadian-led flights

About 221 people were on the two flights that left Friday, including 68 Canadian citizens and six permanent residents, Anand said. In all, 375 Canadians known to be in the country have traveled on Canadian-led or allied-operated flights, he added.

“We will continue flights as long as possible, but I would say that the situation is dynamic,” Anand told reporters at a press conference Saturday morning.

“We are looking at all options.”

Those options, he said, include exploring evacuation efforts by land or sea. Two navy ships bound for the Indo-Pacific region have been diverted to stay close to the city of Port Sudan in case they can be used in the future to get Canadians home, Anand said.

He declined to comment on other options, but said steps taken by other allied nations could guide Canada’s efforts.

“The United States carried out a convoy yesterday, and this is a tracked initiative,” he said, stressing the second day that the air evacuation window was closed.

The hope of democracy is lost

The Sudanese capital Khartoum, a city of about five million people, has been turned into a front line in the conflict between General Abdel Fattah Burhan, the commander of the Sudanese military, and General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, who leads a powerful paramilitary group. known as Rapid Support Forces. Two weeks of violence between the two sides have dashed the once euphoric hopes of Sudan’s transition to democracy.

Canada’s evacuation efforts are ramping up faster than some allied nations. Britain said it would end evacuation flights on Saturday after requests for places on planes declined. Officials there say more than 1,500 people have flown out of the country so far.

Azza Ahmed was among the Sudanese-Canadians who returned home, though he gives Ottawa little credit for their safe escape.

A family visit to Khartoum expected to last until May 8 was cut short when violence erupted, prompting Ahmed and his family members to register in the country with Global Affairs Canada.

He said he received a call from a Canadian official at 1 a.m. last Monday who told him that a German-run flight could accommodate him and his Canadian relatives within nine hours if they could arrive at Khartoum airport, 25 kilometers away.

After pouring all his family’s gas into one car, Ahmed said the half-hour drive to the airport took two hours.

‘No one cares about us’

Despite driving his family through the back roads of Khartoum, his cousin’s car was stopped by members of the Rapid Support Force. Ahmed’s brothers were released after they got out of the car, emptied their pockets and explained that all the passengers were women who were trying to save them.

Once at the airport, he and 40 other Sudanese-Canadians left Sudan for Jordan before being flown to Germany. There, Ahmed and his family booked a commercial flight to Toronto where they arrived on Wednesday. Ahmed’s brothers had no choice but to stay behind.

“Kuwait, India, France and South Korea – they were able to evacuate their citizens safely for days before the Canadian Embassy even contacted us. I was surprised that we were one of the last countries to evacuate,” Ahmad said. “[Canada] can get diplomats out in a few days. But nobody cares about us.”

WATCH | Azza Ahmed describes his escape from Sudan:

Anand said Saturday that he believes members of the military can work effectively with Canadian allies to keep other expatriates safe.

About 1,800 Canadians have told Global Affairs they are in Sudan.

The department had previously said that about 400 Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their families had applied for consular assistance, but only a fraction wanted help leaving the country.

About 300 Canadians have been flown to safe third countries amid escalating violence in Sudan over the past two weeks, officials said Friday. Others have gone on their own, making trips to neighboring countries by car or bus.

On Saturday – despite a ceasefire held under heavy international pressure – residents said clashes continued around the presidential palace, the headquarters of the state broadcaster and a military base in Khartoum. The battle sent thick black smoke over the city skyline.

Anand said Canada welcomed the ceasefire and added a call for a peaceful end to the violence. The Sudanese Doctors Syndicate estimates that the fighting has killed more than 400 civilians and injured more than 2,000 since it erupted on April 15.