Canada has closed its embassy in the Sudan capital as the deadly battle between the military and powerful rival forces for control of the country reached its third day on Monday.
At least 185 people have been killed and more than 1,800 injured since riots broke out in Khartoum over the weekend, UN envoy Volker Pertes said. The Sudanese Doctors Syndicate, which he estimates killed 97 civilians in the clashes, admits that many bodies in the streets of the capital cannot be reached as the fighting continues. , there is no official death toll.
The Canadian government already updated the country’s travel advisory on Sunday, advising Canadians to avoid all travel to Sudan and to evacuate Canadians already there. It was further escalated by the closure of the embassy on Monday.
Those in need of urgent consular services have been told to contact the government’s Emergency Monitoring and Response Center.
Global Affairs Canada did not immediately respond to questions about how many Canadians were in Sudan or what was being done to assist embassy staff.
There was no word Monday on an evacuation plan for Canadians in the country.The US State Department said on Sunday there was no such plan for Americans due to the unstable security situation.
“We expect this to continue,” White House National Security Press Secretary John Kirby told reporters on Monday.
“We urge American citizens in Sudan to deal with this situation with the utmost seriousness.”
The European Union’s High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell said on Twitter that the EU’s ambassador to Sudan was assaulted at his official residence in Khartoum on Monday.
Borrell did not provide details of the attack or say whether the ambassador was injured. Irish diplomat Aidan O’Hara, who was appointed EU ambassador to Sudan last year, has not commented on the incident. .
Fighting since Saturday in Khartoum and its neighboring sister cities Omdurman and Bari has been the worst in decades, between two military factions that have shared power during a difficult political transition. risk tearing Sudan apart.
The power struggle is between General Abdel Fattah Burhan, commander of the army, and General Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo, head of the militia’s Emergency Support Force (RSF). Former allies co-engineered a military coup in October 2021.
Under international pressure, Barhan and Dagalo recently agreed a framework agreement with political parties and pro-democracy groups, but the deal has been repeatedly postponed due to growing tensions over the RSF’s integration into the military and its future chain of command. was done.
The United States, the United Nations, and others are calling for a ceasefire. Egypt, which is backing the Sudanese army, and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have sent thousands of fighters to support the war in Yemen and have established close ties with the RSF in recent years, have also called on both to withdraw. ing.
However, both generals have so far dug in, demanding the other’s surrender and ruling out negotiations.
Millions of people are trapped where they could have found home or shelter because of the violence. .
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said an immediate ceasefire was needed and that the fighting could pose a threat to the wider region.The White House said it was in communication with military leaders. rice field.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the already fragile humanitarian situation was crumbling and urged calm, while the UN’s aid chief Martin Griffiths said the fighting would disrupt many aid programs. Said it was closed.
The United Nations Security Council was due to discuss progress in Sudan late Monday as the United States, the European Union, Africa and Arab countries all call for an end to the fighting.
— Using files from Associated Press and Reuters
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