Joint Forces board the C-130 bound for Sudan to evacuate British embassy diplomats and their families, in RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus April 25,POOL/Reuters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday it’s not easy to arrange a landing spot in Sudan for Canadian military aircraft, as Ottawa relies on allies to evacuate citizens from the country.
Countries around the world have been scrambling to airlift their citizens out of Sudan, which has spiralled into chaos amid fierce fighting between two rival generals.
Mr. Trudeau, who earlier this week said Canada “would be airlifting as well,” rejected the suggestion from reporters that Ottawa’s efforts to airlift its own citizens from Sudan are being delayed.
“There’s no delay. Obviously it’s an extremely difficult situation,” he said.
“There’s very limited … places where those airlifts can happen from. There is discussion around with the different countries on who gets to land when; who gets to do the airlift work quickly.”
Sudan’s conflict explained: What’s behind the latest fighting?
In a statement Tuesday evening, Ottawa said the Canadian Forces are “assisting with transportation efforts to the extent that conditions allow.”
But so far, Ottawa has not reported sending a military aircraft into Sudan, where about 1,700 Canadian citizens are located, according to records at the Department of Global Affairs. The actual number is believed to be higher.
In recent days, Germany airlifted 58 Canadians from Sudan and the U.S. evacuated six Canadian diplomats.
Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Egypt, Jordan, Spain, the Netherlands and South Korea have also reportedly landed aircraft in Sudan in the last week.
Khartoum’s airport is right in the middle of the city, making it highly vulnerable to the fighting.
More than 100 Canadians have already left Sudan, the federal government said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly told reporters Tuesday that 573 of the Canadians registered as being in Sudan have asked Global Affairs for assistance.
A ceasefire was helping evacuation efforts, she said, though the three-day truce was reported as being shaky.
Ms. Joly said some Canadians were leaving by themselves through neighbouring countries and that her department has helped negotiate safe passage for others via countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia and Egypt.
“We are part of international co-ordination efforts so we have been able to make sure that Canadians would be on flights of other countries,” she said, thanking Germany, France, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for helping evacuate Canadians.
On Tuesday, Ottawa said it will introduce new immigration measures to support Sudanese temporary residents who are currently in Canada and may be unable to return home because of the fighting. Once these measures are in place, Sudanese nationals will be able to apply for an extension of their status in Canada, allowing them to continue studying, working or visiting family free of charge.
Canada has been flying military aircraft into Djibouti, a country on the Horn of Africa about 1,200 kilometres by air from Khartoum. But flight-tracking websites have not recorded any instances of planes from the Royal Canadian Air Force entering Sudan itself.
Two Canadian military ships are in the Red Sea.
Retired general David Fraser said Canada has the capacity to airlift from conflict zones and has a non-combatant evacuation operation high readiness unit that is always ready to go in addition to special forces “who are designed exactly to do this type of operation.”
He said risks must be weighed but ultimately, it’s up to elected leaders to give the order.
“We have done combat. We have done peacekeeping. This is the Forces’ raison d’être. They will risk-manage the situation. But there has to be a politician that says ‘Go, get our people out.’ "
The World Health Organization warned on Tuesday there was a high risk of biological hazard after one of the warring parties seized a laboratory in Khartoum that stores measles and cholera pathogens for vaccinations in the capital.
An exodus of diplomatic staff and aid workers from Sudan has raised fears that civilians who remain in the country will be in greater danger if an alternative to hostilities is not found before a shaky three-day ceasefire ends on Thursday.
U.S. President Joe Biden’s national security team is continuing to talk to Sudan’s rival military leaders to work toward a durable end to the fighting and humanitarian arrangements, a White House spokesperson said on Tuesday.
The clashes have paralyzed hospitals and other essential services, and left many people stranded in their homes with dwindling supplies of food and water.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said shortages of food, water, medicines and fuel were becoming “extremely acute,” with prices for basic goods, including bottled water, rocketing. It has been forced to cut back operations for safety reasons.
Since fighting erupted on April 15, tens of thousands have left for neighbouring Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan, despite the uncertainty of conditions there.
Foreign countries have airlifted embassy staff out after several attacks on diplomats, including the killing of an Egyptian attaché shot on his way to work.
Britain launched a large-scale evacuation of its nationals on military flights from an airfield north of Khartoum. France and Germany said they had each evacuated more than 500 people of various nationalities, and that a French commando had been hit by crossfire during the operation.
With reports from The Canadian Press, Associated Press and Reuters