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Canada closes its embassy in Sudan as clashes enter their third day

Canada closes its embassy in Sudan as clashes enter their third day

By Omayma othmani

Published: April 18, 2023

Canada closed its embassy in the Sudanese capital as the bloody clashes between the army and a strong competing force for control of the country entered their third day on Monday.

UN envoy Volker Perthes said at least 185 people have been killed and more than 1800 injured since the sudden outbreak of violence in Khartoum early in the week.

The Sudanese Doctors’ Union also estimated that 97 civilians were killed in the clashes, but there is no official death toll amid acknowledgment of the inability to access many bodies in the streets of the capital as fighting continues.

Meanwhile, the Canadian government had already updated its travel advisory for the country on Sunday, advising Canadians to avoid traveling to Sudan and those already there to shelter in place. This warning was then escalated with the embassy closure on Monday.

Anyone requiring emergency consular services is also being informed to contact the government’s Emergency Watch and Response Centre.

Global Affairs Canada did not immediately respond to questions about how many Canadians are in Sudan or what is being done to assist embassy staff.

There was also no news on Monday regarding a plan to evacuate Canadians in the country. The U.S. State Department said on Sunday there would be no such plan for Americans due to the unstable security situation.

For his part, Josep Borrell, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, tweeted that the EU ambassador to Sudan was attacked at his residence in Khartoum earlier on Monday.

Borrell did not provide details about the attack nor clarify whether the ambassador was injured. Aidan O’Hara, the Irish diplomat appointed EU ambassador to Sudan last year, did not comment on the incident himself.

The fighting in Khartoum and the neighboring cities of Omdurman and Bahri since Saturday is the worst in decades and threatens to tear Sudan apart between two military factions that have shared power during a difficult political transition period.

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