The Swedish government can send a maximum of 400 soldiers to Sudan. The operation is to be carried out in cooperation with other countries and international organizations.
On Sunday, the Swedish Parliament approved a proposal to send an armed evacuation force to Sudan. They talk about it, among other things Swedish public radio SVT (you switch to another service), Expressen (you switch to another service), Aftonbladet (you switch to another service) and the Swedish news agency TT.
With the decision, the government can send a group of up to 400 soldiers to Sudan to evacuate citizens of both Sweden and other countries. The operation is to be carried out in cooperation with other countries and international organizations.
Chairman of the State Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee Aron Emilsson tells the news agency TT that Sweden is currently in dialogue with France about the evacuation.
– Evacuation involves great risks. The government and parliament have now taken on a significant responsibility, says Emilsson.
All parties in the Diet voted in favor of sending an evacuation team.
On Wednesday, the Swedish government already gave the army limited powers to assist the personnel of the Khartoum embassy in a possible evacuation. However, the Parliament’s decision on Sunday expands the military’s powers to act. Soldiers are now allowed to leave the airport to pick up Swedish citizens and resort to violence if necessary.
The operation will be completed by the end of June
Both the Swedish Armed Forces and the Swedish Security Agency have confirmed to SVT that they have received an evacuation order from the government. They do not reveal the content of the assignment in more detail.
Emilsson tells SVT that it is not clear whether all 400 people are needed for the operation.
Spokesperson for the committee Håkan Svenneling says that Sweden expects to send about 150 people to the evacuation operation.
Sweden estimates that the evacuation operation will be completed by the end of June at the latest.
The Sudanese army and RSF forces have been fighting since last Saturday. There are about one hundred Swedish citizens in Sudan, including representatives of the Swedish embassy and their families.
Updated on 23.4. 1:26 p.m.: Added information that the government already on Wednesday gave the army limited powers to assist in the evacuation.