A wanted Sudanese war crimes suspect has confirmed that he and other members of the Islamist regime ousted in 2019 have escaped from prison during recent fighting, raising new fears for a fragile ceasefire that has enabled foreigners to flee.
The 72-hour ceasefire brokered by the United States was already struggling to hold after the regular army launched renewed air strikes against rival paramilitary forces in the capital late on Tuesday.
Anti-aircraft guns fired at fighter jets in the skies over Khartoum's sister city of Omdurman on Wednesday, witnesses told AFP.
Armed clashes meanwhile continued in Soba on the outskirts of Khartoum, witnesses said.
The escape of leading figures from the ousted regime of Omar Al-Bashir, at least one of whom is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur, has raised fears the conflict may take a turn for the worse.
Ahmed Harun, a top Bashir aide who led the regime's infamous counter-insurgency operations in Darfur in the mid-2000s, said late on Tuesday that he and other regime members had escaped from Kober prison.
The ousted dictator had himself been held in the same prison but the army confirmed on Wednesday that the 79-year-old had already been transferred to hospital before the current fighting erupted on 15 April.
Members of Bashir's regime, including the strongman himself, had been moved to a military hospital "due to their health conditions… and remain in the hospital under the guard of the judicial police", the army said in a statement, without specifying when they had been moved.
It was the third reported jail break to have taken advantage of the fighting between forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and those backing his deputy turned rival, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.
"We remained in our detention at Kober, under the crossfire of this current battle, for nine days," even after the jail was emptied of both guards and prisoners, Harun said in a recorded address to Sudanese television.
He said he and fellow jailed regime members "had now taken responsibility for our protection in our own hands" in another location.
Separately, a ship carrying 1,687 civilians from more than 50 countries fleeing violence in Sudan docked in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, the foreign ministry said, the largest evacuation effort by the Gulf kingdom so far.
A ship carrying 1,687 civilians from over 50 countries docked in Saudi Arabia.
Sudan's army said ousted former president Omar Hassan Al-Bashir is being held in a military hospital under police custody.
The first Turkish civilians evacuated from Sudan returned to Turkey, with more than 100 people arriving by plane at Istanbul Airport.
A wanted Sudanese war crimes suspect confirms late on Tuesday that he and other members of the Islamist regime ousted in 2019 have escaped from prison.
(Reuters, agencies)
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WHO fears more deaths in Sudan due to outbreaks, collapse of services
The World Health Organization (WHO) expects "many more" deaths in Sudan due to outbreaks of disease and a lack of essential services amid fighting, its director general says.
Battles between Sudan's army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary since mid-April has killed at least 459 people and injured more than 4,000, according to the WHO.
"On top of the number of deaths and injuries caused by the conflict itself, the WHO expects there will be many more deaths due to outbreaks, lack of access to food and water and disruptions to essential health services, including immunisation," WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says.
Tedros adds only 16 percent of health facilities were functioning in the Sudanese capital.
"WHO estimates that one quarter of the lives lost so far could have been saved with access to basic haemorrhage control. But paramedics, nurses and doctors are unable to access injured civilians, and civilians are unable to access services."
WHO assessing risk after fighters seize Sudan lab holding samples of deadly diseases
The World Health Organization says it's assessing the threat posed to public health after fighters in Sudan occupied a national laboratory holding samples of deadly diseases.
"We are also concerned that those occupying the lab could be accidentally exposed to pathogens stored there,"Â WHOÂ chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tells a press conference in Geneva.
"WHO is seeking more information and conducting a risk assessment."
Over 300 Britons, other foreigners evacuated from Sudan: UK
The UK government said Wednesday it had so far evacuated more than 300 British and other foreign nationals from the violence in Sudan, after it began civilian airlifts late Tuesday.
Those evacuated, the majority UK passport holders and their dependents, were flown out of the conflict-mired country on four flights, a spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told reporters.
Another four flights were expected to depart during the course of Wednesday, he added.
"Flights have been full or close to full. We are seeing good numbers coming to the airstrip," the spokesman said, referring to a runway being used near the capital Khartoum.
"We are seeing a smooth and orderly flow of people… I haven't been told of large-scale problems with people who aren't eligible turning up."
Currently, only British passport holders and their dependents, as well as some foreign nationals where space permits, are being allowed on the flights, which are taking evacuees to a UK military base on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.
They are then being flown on to Britain.
But Sunak's spokesman said that could change given the "very fast-moving situation".
Over 60 percent of health care facilities in Khartoum closed
More than 60 percent of health care facilities in Khartoum are closed due to the conflict in Sudan, the World Health Organization says.
"In the capital, Khartoum, 61 percent of health facilities are closed and only 16 percent are operating as normal," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tells a press conference from the UN health agency headquarters in Geneva.
UK expecting more evacuation flights throughout day
The UK says it's expecting more evacuation flights to leave Sudan throughout the day.
"The safety of British nationals in Sudan continues to be our utmost priority," the British Foreign Office tweets.
"The first evacuation flights have left Sudan and we're expecting more flights throughout the day."
It adds that 231 people have been evacuated on UK flights as of 0600 on Wednesday, including 169 British nationals.
The safety of British nationals in Sudan continues to be our utmost priority. The first evacuation flights have left Sudan and we’re expecting more flights throughout the day.
See latest numbers of people evacuated on UK flights as of 0600 on 26/4/23 👇 pic.twitter.com/NbvVwmBeEc
— Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (@FCDOGovUK) April 26, 2023
Sudan resistance committees assist civilians as continued clashes leave country in chaos
Following the outbreak of a violent conflict between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) which has killed hundreds of people and displaced thousands more, Sudan's activist resistance and neighbourhood committees have stepped in to protect civilians and lessen their suffering.
The committees have moved swiftly to provide as much protection as possible to civilians amidst the chaos of the conflict.
Clashes erupted between the army and RSF forces on 15 April in the Sudanese capital Khartoum - quickly spreading to nearby Khartoum Bahri and Omdurman and engulfing most of Khartoum state.
The resistance and neighbourhood committees swung into action as soon as the clashes broke out, giving civilians information about how to protect themselves.
For example, they told them when to stay inside their homes and in which cases to leave, and when to move around in groups.
They also advised on areas to keep away from, such as military zones and positions where the armed forces have deployed.
As the fighting intensified and spread, and as water and electricity have been cut off, the committees took on additional tasks, like obtaining medicines for the sick and elderly.
They have also rescued injured civilians and provided food items.
Sudanese war crimes suspect confirms he, other ex-regime officials escaped prison
A wanted Sudanese war crimes suspect has confirmed that he and other members of the Islamist regime ousted in 2019 have escaped from prison during recent fighting.
The escape of leading figures from the ousted regime of Omar Al-Bashir, at least one of whom is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur, has raised fears the conflict may take a turn for the worse.
Ahmed Harun, a top Bashir aide who led the regime's infamous counter-insurgency operations in Darfur in the mid-2000s, said late on Tuesday that he and other regime members had escaped from Kober prison.
The ousted dictator had himself been held in the same prison but the army confirmed Wednesday that the 79-year-old had already been transferred to hospital before the current fighting erupted on 15 April.
Members of Bashir's regime, including the strongman himself, had been moved to a military hospital "due to their health conditions... and remain in the hospital under the guard of the judicial police", the army said in a statement, without specifying when they had been moved.
It was the third reported jail break to have taken advantage of the fighting between forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and those backing his deputy turned rival, Rapid Support Forces paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.
"We remained in our detention at Kober, under the crossfire of this current battle, for nine days," even after the jail was emptied of both guards and prisoners, Harun said in a recorded address to Sudanese television.
He said he and fellow jailed regime members "had now taken responsibility for our protection in our own hands" in another location.
First Turkish civilians evacuated from Sudan arrive in Istanbul
The first Turkish civilians evacuated from Sudan returned to Turkey on Wednesday, with more than 100 people arriving by plane at Istanbul Airport, Reuters footage showed.
The Turks came from the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, where they had arrived overland from the Sudanese capital Khartoum.
Several more flights were expected later on Wednesday to evacuate the remaining Turkish citizens crossing to Ethiopia from Sudan.
Sudan's ousted Bashir in military hospital under police custody, army says
Sudan's army says ousted former president Omar Hassan Al-Bashir is being held in a military hospital under police custody.
Formerly jailed Bashir and around 30 others were moved to the hospital on the recommendation of medical staff in Kober prison before fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces broke out, the statement says.
Sudan's Bashir moved to military hospital before fighting: sources
Sudan's toppled leader Omar Al-Bashir was moved from Kober prison to a military hospital in the Sudanese capital before heavy fighting broke out there on 15 April, two sources at the hospital said.
The whereabouts of Bashir came into question after a former minister in his government, Ali Haroun, announced on Tuesday he had left the prison with other ex officials.
Both Bashir and Haroun are wanted by the International Criminal Court over alleged atrocities in Darfur.
UK has evacuated 200–300 citizens from Sudan, Home Secretary Braverman says
The UK has evacuated 200–300 of its citizens from conflict-ridden Sudan, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said on Wednesday, adding that an "extensive operation" was underway to help Britons stranded in the North African country.
"We expect there to be approximately 200–300 people who have been relocated from Sudan in the last few flights, but we are now commencing an extensive operation," Braverman told Sky News.
Britain began a large-scale evacuation of its citizens on Tuesday, following other nations in pulling people out of Sudan.
The government has estimated that around 4,000 Britons were stuck in Sudan.
Ship carrying 1,687 civilians from over 50 countries docks in Saudi Arabia
A ship carrying 1,687 civilians from more than 50 countries fleeing violence in Sudan docked in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, the foreign ministry said, the largest evacuation effort by the Gulf kingdom so far.
Saudi Arabia has received several rounds of evacuees by air and sea since fighting broke out in Africa's third-biggest country on April 15, part of what analysts describe as an effort to position itself as a major player in responding to regional crises.
The group that arrived in the coastal city of Jeddah from Port Sudan on Wednesday was "transported by one of the kingdom's ships, and the kingdom was keen to provide all the basic needs of foreign nationals in preparation for their departure", the ministry said.
It included 13 Saudis, while the rest came from countries across the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas, the ministry added.
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