MOSCOW, April 26. /TASS/. Sudanese authorities have made a verbal request for humanitarian assistance to Russian representatives, Russian Ambassador to Sudan Andrey Chernovol told TASS on Wednesday.
When asked whether Russia received any requests for humanitarian assistance from the Sudanese authorities, the ambassador answered in the affirmative, but clarified that they were given only in words.
"So far only verbal. The fact is that Sudan’s Foreign Ministry is operating remotely, so under the circumstances, the staff cannot resume their work at the ministry. But we take such verbal requests into account and submit them to Moscow," he said.
Sudan crisis
Earlier, the ambassador told TASS that Russia was working on evacuating Russian nationals from Sudan. He explained that the delay was due to certain risks that need to be mitigated.
The situation in Sudan escalated amid disagreements between the army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who also heads the ruling Sovereignty Council, and the head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (known as Hemedti), who is al-Burhan’s deputy in the council.
The main points of contention between the two military organizations pertain to the timeline and methods for unifying the armed forces of Sudan, as well as who should be appointed as commander-in-chief of the army: a career military officer, which is al-Burhan’s preferred option, or an elected civilian president, as Dagalo insists.
On April 15, armed clashes between the rival military factions erupted near a military base in Merowe and in the capital, Khartoum. According to the country’s health ministry, more than 600 people have been killed in the country since the conflict broke out. In turn, the World Health Organization reported that the conflict had claimed about 450 lives with over 4,000 people suffering injuries.
Thousands of foreign nationals have been evacuated from Sudan in recent days. Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and France have all closed their embassies in Khartoum. Most countries are reducing their diplomatic presence or relocating their missions to neighboring countries.