Finland cooperates with the countries that have many evacuees in the region. According to Haavisto, citizens of several European countries can be protected at the same time.
There is an armed conflict in Sudan. For example, Britain, the United States and Saudi Arabia have already evacuated their citizens from the region. On Sunday, Sweden approved a proposal to send up to 400 armed soldiers to Sudan for evacuation missions.
Foreign minister Pekka Haaviston according to Finland is not currently sending troops to evacuate Finns.
– Currently, there has been no need for such an armed group.
Finland cooperates extensively with various countries and organizations to get Finns safe. The cooperation is also driven by the fact that Finland does not have its own embassy in Khartoum.
According to Haavisto, there are a dozen Finns in the area. For example, there are thousands of Americans.
– There are a hundred in Sweden, a couple of hundred in Italy. A large number in France as well. These will be used when the route opens. Then the citizens of several European countries can be protected at the same time, says Haavisto.
Although Finland does not send evacuation forces, the defense forces and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs cooperate very closely to bring Finns home, according to Haavisto. There is no one answer to the question of whose ride the Finns will be taken to safety.
– There are UN employees there, and the UN is making plans for them. There are people with other jobs and people who have been privately visiting Sudan. For such persons, we are looking at slightly different evacuation routes, but everyone is currently being contacted, says Haavisto.
According to Haavisto, the situation in Khartoum varies from hour to hour and from district to district.
– We have to go according to these firefight situations. There are bodies in the street and gunfights. The situation is different in different districts, says Haavisto.
– We have to monitor individually how the person gets to shelter. First to the assembly point and then onward.
The evacuations continue for days or even weeks
According to Haavisto, it is not possible to estimate a single point in time when the Finns will be brought to safety.
– The evacuations will probably continue for a few days – maybe a few weeks for western countries. The difference with, for example, Afghanistan is that Western countries are not involved in this military conflict. A military conflict is a country’s civil war between two different armed groups, says Haavisto.
The violence that broke out in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere in the country is the result of a power struggle between two military leaders. As the conflict that started in mid-April continues, it is no longer just a firefight. According to Haavisto, the challenges of the civilians who remained in Khartoum are also the interruption of electricity and water supply and meeting the basic needs of living.