Canada conducts first evacuation flight from war-torn Sudan, National Defence Minister Anita Anand announced on Thursday. She did not provide any details about the operation, but said that an announcement with further information would be made later that day. Anand also revealed that about 200 members of the Canadian Armed Forces have been deployed to the region with military planes and ships for evacuation operations. The crisis in Sudan has left hundreds of people dead in nearly two weeks of conflict between the army and a rival paramilitary force. An unstable 72-hour ceasefire has allowed countries to evacuate their citizens, but it is set to expire on Thursday night.
Anand stated that conditions on the ground must be safe and secure and that there is sufficient space on the airfield for the evacuation. The situation is extremely dangerous in Sudan, with intermittent power, communication, and widespread food and water shortages. Planning is ongoing to ensure that the maximum number of Canadians can be evacuated as soon as possible, Anand said.
As of Tuesday night, at least 1,700 of the over 1,800 registered Canadians in Sudan have been contacted by the government, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly. The fighting broke out on April 15, derailing a transition to civilian democracy after a 2021 military coup. The crisis has caused growing numbers of refugees across Sudan’s borders, with an estimated 270,000 people fleeing to South Sudan and Chad alone.
The conflict has also limited food distribution in the country, where a third of the 46 million people were already reliant on humanitarian aid. About 50,000 acutely malnourished children have had treatment disrupted, and 60 out of 86 hospitals in conflict zones have stopped operating, according to the Sudan Doctors’ Union. The situation remains precarious, with foreign nationals, including Canadians, still stuck in the country.