Canada stopped providing consular services in Sudan on Sunday. They said that the situation was getting worse so quickly that they couldn’t guarantee the safety and security of their staff in Khartoum, the main city.
In just 10 days, hundreds of people have been killed and thousands have been hurt because talks between the country’s armed forces and its rebel troops quickly broke down.
Global Affairs Canada said in a statement, “The situation in Sudan has changed so quickly that we can’t guarantee the safety and security of our staff.” “After talking with Canada’s Ambassador to Sudan, we’ve decided to stop doing business in Sudan for now.
The statement said that Canadian diplomats will temporarily work from a safe place outside of the country. They will also continue to work with others to coordinate the reaction to the crisis in Sudan.
No Shots Were Fired, and There Were No Major Injuries
When Canada made its choice, U.S. special operations forces were evacuating the American embassy in Sudan in a dangerous way. On Sunday, they flew in and out of the capital in less than an hour with helicopters. No shots were fired, and there were no major injuries.
The tweet below confirms the news:
Canada temporarily suspends operations in #Sudan: https://t.co/0LzRmYzx6g pic.twitter.com/5oZY6V1spT
— Foreign Policy CAN (@CanadaFP) April 23, 2023
As soon as the last American worker left the embassy, Washington closed the U.S. mission in Khartoum for good. Thousands of private American citizens still lived in the East African country after they were sent home.
The New York Times says that U.S. special forces rescued six Canadian officials, while the BBC says that Canadians are part of a group that was rescued by sea and taken to Saudi Arabia. Global Affairs did not confirm those claims right away.
As of Saturday, 1,596 Canadians were officially listed as being in Sudan, but experts say the number is probably much higher.
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