Egyptian troops, civilians evacuated from Sudan as fighting rages on

Fighting continued in Sudan late last night even after warring factions consented to a 3-day ceasefire mediated by the United States and Saudi Arabia, Reuters reported. The continued violence came after the UN’s special envoy to Sudan told the security council that the ceasefire between Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia “seems to be holding in some parts,” but admitted that there was no real appetite for negotiation on either side.

The situation has become dire for Sudanese civilians with at least 459 people having lost their lives and more than 4k people wounded, according to Reuters. Tens of thousands have fledto neighboring countries like Egypt, Chad, and South Sudan.

Nearly 10.2k people of various nationalities fled Sudan into Egypt via the Arqeen and Qastal border crossings in the past five days, according to the Transport Ministry. Foreign embassies in Egypt — including those of China and Hungary — are coordinating with the authorities to follow up with their citizens who have made the crossing, the statement reads.

Amid the chaos, Egyptians continue to make it to safety: Over 1.5k Egyptian citizens have evacuated from the country’s capital in recent days. The Foreign Ministry said yesterday that 1.5k people have now returned to Egypt, with 635 leaving the country on Tuesday.

Egyptian troops evacuated: Some 177 Egyptian troops returned safely to Cairo after being airlifted from Sudan in three separate flights (watch, runtime: 0:37).

And detained soldiers freed: Twenty-seven Egyptian soldiers detained by the RSF at the Meroe air base earlier this month have been freed following mediation by the UAE, Emirati news agency WAM reported Thursday. Statements from the Egyptian Armed Forces and the RSF confirmed the news, with the soldiers arriving at the Egyptian embassy in Khartoum after being handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Death of a diplomat: An assistant administrative attache in Egypt’s embassy in Khartoum, Muhammad El Gharrawi, was killed during the clashes between different military factions in the Sudanese capital, the Foreign Ministry said Monday. El Gharrawi was en route to the embassy to oversee the evacuation of Egyptians when he was killed, the ministry said, without providing further details. Initially, there was confusion about the identity of the victim, as the Sudanese army had reported that it was Egypt’s assistant military attache who had been killed.

Foreign diplomats, citizens evacuate en masse: Western governments have begun to evacuate diplomatic personnel in recent days and nations around the world are mounting rescue operations for stranded citizens.

Egyptian high school students returning from Sudan will have the option to postpone their finals to August, the Education Ministry said in a statement yesterday.

High-level talks:In an effort to address the crisis, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has spoken to the leaders of the UAE and the UK in recent days about how to bring the fighting to an end.