According to the country’s National Defense Ministry on Saturday, China has evacuated 940 nationals from conflict-torn Sudan amid continuous hostilities between the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
From Wednesday through Saturday, two Chinese People’s Liberation Army naval warships brought Chinese people as well as 231 foreigners to a port in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, according to the ministry’s spokesperson Tan Kefei.
“The Chinese military has always been the people’s guardian and a staunch defender of national sovereignty, security, and development interests,” Tan continued.
Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, had stated that 1,300 Chinese citizens had been evacuated from the African country.
According to Sudan’s Health Ministry, at least 528 people have been killed and over 4,500 have been injured in skirmishes between two opposing generals, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, the commander of the armed forces, and Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of the RSF, since April 15.
The army and the paramilitary force had been at odds in recent months over the latter’s incorporation into the armed forces, which was a crucial requirement of Sudan’s transition agreement with political groups.
Sudan has been without a functioning government since October 2021, when the military deposed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s transitional government and established a state of emergency, a move that political forces have labeled as a “coup.”
Sudan’s transitional period, which began in August 2019 following President Omar al-Bashir’s removal, was set to culminate with elections in early 2024.