Sweden to land troops in Sudan to 'aid nationals evacuation efforts'
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Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson says Sweden is ready to deploy troops in Sudan to aid the evacuation of nationals in conflict-ridden Sudan.
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Swedish Defence Minister Pal Josnson speaks at a news conference in Stockholm, Sweden, 24 January 2023 (Reuters)
Sweden plans on sending a military detachment to Sudan to evacuate Swedish nationals from the conflict-ridden country including Swedish embassy employees, Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson stated on Saturday.
Such a decision would need the approval of the Swedish parliament which is set to consider sending military personnel to Sudan on Sunday, according to Swedish media.
"This decision would mean that the Riksdag (parliament) would allow the government to send military forces in accordance with international law to support and carry out the operation to evacuate Swedish and foreign citizens from Sudan. Of course, this would be done in close cooperation with international organizations and other countries," Jonson stated at a press conference.
Swedish Aftonbladet newspaper reported that there are around a hundred Swedish citizens stuck in Sudan at the moment.
Similarly, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on Friday that the US military has deployed forces close to the African country and will take action when a decision from Washington is made to evacuate embassy staff.
“We’ve deployed some forces into the theatre to ensure that we provide as many options as possible if we are called on to do something. And we haven’t been called on to do anything yet,” he told reporters at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
“No decision on anything has been made,” he added, without providing further details on whether the decision would be made public.
However, the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces stated on Saturday that they will ensure the safe evacuation of foreigners and diplomats through Sudanese airports.
Saudi Arabia has already evacuated foreigners and nationals through the Port of Sudan on Saturday, with Jordan set to follow suit.
The country's official Al-Ekhbariyah television revealed that "The first evacuation vessel from Sudan has arrived, carrying 50 citizens and a number of nationals from friendly countries."
The army and the rebel RSF, which are waging a deadly power struggle across the country, had both issued statements saying they would uphold a three-day ceasefire from Friday for Islam's Eid al-Fitr holiday. Although the clashes were reduced the ceasefire was breached on multiple occasions on Friday and Saturday.
The World Health Organization announced on Friday that since clashes broke out, there have been 413 fatalities and 3,551 injuries.
