Published: Less than 20 min ago
A total of 25 Swedish citizens have been evacuated from Sudan. A convoy of cars and buses drove slowly through Khartoum to a military base.
This is what we know about the effort.
Sunday, 5 p.m.: A convoy, escorted by French forces, leaves Sudan’s capital, Khartoum. It heads for a military airfield north of the capital.
Altogether, there are 25 Swedes in the convoy. All seconded personnel at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Sida and their families are among the evacuees – including six children. Some of the local employees who had been able to get to the evacuation site are also among the evacuees, according to the embassy’s management.
The convoy consists of several buses and cars and slowly makes its way through Khartoum. Via telephone chains, the Swedish government follows the convoy’s journey out of the city.
– On a few occasions it had to make changes to its route due to unrest, but it arrived happily at the airbase and there the rest of the evacuation work could be carried out, says Foreign Minister Tobias Billström.
Sunday, at 20:45: The convoy arrives at the military base north of Khartoum.
Monday, at 00:30: A French military transport plane takes off from the airport with the evacuees. At 04 in the morning it lands in Djibouti.
No one was injured in the operation.
– It is with joy and relief that we can announce that all seconded Swedish personnel from the embassy in Khartoum, their companions and a few more Swedes have been evacuated from Sudan, says Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson at a press conference.
Around 150 Swedish citizens are still in Sudan.