EU evacuates diplomatic staff from Sudan

The EU evacuated its embassy staff in Sudan amid ongoing bloody battles between rival military factions in the African country.

Twenty diplomats from the bloc’s mission in Khartoum have been repatriated to Europe, the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters Monday on his way into an EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Luxembourg.

He added: “Many more European Union citizens and others are already out of Sudan. I cannot give you the concrete figure — it is more than 1,000 people for sure.”

The EU’s Ambassador Aidan O’Hara, who was assaulted last week in his official residence by armed men wearing military uniforms, left Khartoum but remained in Sudan.

“The captain is the last one leaving the ship,” Borrell said.

Several European foreign ministers thanked the French government for coordinating the evacuation of foreign citizens from Sudan.

French military planes evacuated 388 people to Djibouti, according to a note from the foreign ministry Monday morning.