| An exodus from Sudan |
| Just after midnight yesterday, American diplomats were evacuated by helicopter from Khartoum, Sudan’s besieged capital city. That departure then turned into a full-fledged exodus of foreign officials, diplomats and citizens of other nations as the battle raged around them. Sudan, long viewed as strategically important, has been in the grip of intense fighting for over a week. |
| Some Sudanese, feeling angry and abandoned, lashed out at the Western negotiators they blame for the collapse of political talks that were supposed to lead to civilian rule — but which instead became a flashpoint for the two generals now battling for power. There are concerns that the exit of foreign diplomats might allow an even more brutal turn in the nation’s affairs. |
| At least 400 people have been killed in the clashes and 3,500 injured, according to the U.N., and two-thirds of Sudan’s major hospitals have closed. As prices soar, food is scarce and likely to become scarcer still; over the weekend, the country’s largest flour mill was destroyed in fighting. Even supplies of cash are running low. |
| Details: A U.N. convoy snaked its way out of Khartoum, starting a 525-mile drive to Port Sudan on the Red Sea, while British and French diplomats were escorted to an airfield where military cargo planes were waiting. Other groups headed for Qadarif, a small town near the border with Ethiopia, and a boat chartered by Saudi Arabia carried its fleeing diplomats across the Red Sea. |
| Sudan’s challenges: Many of those still stranded in their homes in Khartoum are without electricity, food or water. The health care system is on the verge of a breakdown, medical workers say. |
| From Opinion: The violence in Sudan is partly our fault, writes Jacqueline Burns, a former adviser to the U.S. special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan. |
