Smoke billows behind residential buildings in eastern Khartoum, the capital city of Sudan on April 17, 2023 as fighting in the country raged for a third day between the forces of two rival generals. Violence erupted early on April 15 after weeks of deepening tensions between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, commander of the heavily armed paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Photo: AFP

With the conflict in Sudan now causing more than 1,200 casualties so far, the Chinese Embassy in the country said on Monday morning that the evacuation of Chinese nationals will depend on how the local situation develops. 
 
"We are collecting basic information on Chinese citizens in Sudan and will decide whether to evacuate Chinese nationals from Sudan after making a final judgment of the situation," the embassy said.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has initiated an emergency consular assistance mechanism to make all-out efforts to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals and institutions in Sudan, warning Chinese nationals not to travel to Sudan and suggesting that those currently in the country report their information as soon as possible.

The Chinese Embassy in Sudan has sent out a security notice to Chinese nationals in the country and contacted Chinese firms to verify the situation of Chinese nationals. There have been no casualties reports of Chinese nationals, the Consular Affairs Department of the Foreign Ministry said on Monday morning.

The department reminded Chinese nationals to avoid travel to Sudan and those already in the country to remain indoors and report to the Chinese Embassy in the event of an emergency. The department has released the phone number of Sudan police, the Chinese Embassy's consular protection number, and the ministry's consular protection emergency hotline.

Cui Yujiang, who has lived worked in Sudan for over 10 years, told the Global Times on Monday that he has been at home and not come out since the outbreak of the conflict. "The conflict has significantly disrupted the normal lives and works of local Chinese nationals. I can hear the gun shots and artillery very close to me and there is a large area where power has been cut in the capital today."

Cui said "the embassy and chamber of commerce contacted us and checked our situation in a group chat in WeChat on a daily basis."

An armed conflict broke out in the capital Khartoum and other parts of the country on Saturday morning, killing at least 97 people and injuring more than 1,000, according to the World Health Organization. Casualties were spread across regions including Khartoum, South Kordofan, North Darfur, and Northern states, with the capital Khartoum witnessing the most severe conflict.

Approximately more than 700 Chinese nationals currently live in Sudan, according to Sun Junbo, head of the Chinese Mining Association in Sudan who is in capital Khartoum. 

Global Times