Sudan conflict: US, Japan, South Korea deploy military assets for possible rescue missions
- Sudan’s capital gripped by warfare between the army and its paramilitary rivals
- Efforts are being planned for the potential evacuation of foreigners from Sudan
The United States, Japan and South Korea were making preparations to evacuate their citizens from Sudan as security in the country’s capital Khartoum deteriorated amid heavy fighting between two rival military groups.
More than 350 people have been killed since the fighting erupted Saturday between forces loyal to Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The fighting, the culmination of a long-simmering power struggle between the army and the RSF, derailed an internationally backed plan for a transition to a civilian democracy four years after the fall of Islamist autocrat Omar al-Bashir to mass protests and two years after a military coup.
International efforts to broker a ceasefire this week have stalled. Some of the fiercest battles have taken place in Khartoum, a city home to five million people, most of whom have been cloistered in their homes without electricity, food and water. The healthcare system has essentially collapsed.
International powers have been struggling to evacuate citizens after the capital’s airport and several districts housing embassies were caught up in the violence.
There were also reports of heavy fighting in the city of Obeid, some 400km (250 miles) southwest of Khartoum.