UN chief Antonio Guterres urges leaders to pull Sudan back from 'edge of the abyss'

Follow the latest Sudan updates here UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday called on the Security Council to exert maximum leverage on the warring parties in Sudan to end the violence, restore order and return to the path of the democratic transition. “The violence must stop. It risks a catastrophic conflagration within Sudan that could engulf the whole region and beyond.” Mr Guterres said, according to a statement from the council. He added that the world body would not be leaving Sudan and that he has authorised the temporary relocation, both inside and outside the country, of some UN personnel and their families. Street battles broke out on April 15 between the forces of military chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan and those of his former deputy Gen Mohamed Dagalo, who heads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The dispute between the Sudanese military and the RSF centres on the proposed integration of the paramilitary group into the regular army. As the fighting rages, countries are working to bring their citizens out of Sudan. UK Armed Forces Minister James Heappey hinted at possible further military action to help Britons in the country, recognising that “the job isn’t done” when it comes to rescuing the 4,000 or more British and dual citizens trapped in Sudan. "Work is under way and has been all weekend, and all the back end of last week, to give the Prime Minister [Rishi Sunak] and Cobra options for what else could be done to support the wider community of British nationals in Sudan," he said. Cobra is the UK's Civil Contingencies Committee. It is an emergency response committee made up of ministers, civil servants and others. The British government swiftly evacuated diplomats and their families from Sudan, but has come under fire for leaving thousands of British citizens behind, with many saying they feel abandoned by the UK. Lebanon , Tunisia and Iraq became the latest countries to begin high-risk evacuation operations from Sudan as the death toll climbed to more than 420 on Monday. About 60 Lebanese citizens were evacuated from Khartoum at the weekend, Lebanon’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday. Most were evacuated from the city in a convoy before arriving in Port Sudan by land, from where they will sail to Lebanon. The Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would begin the evacuation process for its citizens in Sudan on Monday. “We are closely following, around the clock, the conditions of the Tunisian community [in Sudan] … and in co-ordination with the Tunisian embassy in Khartoum we will prepare for the evacuation of the Tunisian community, starting Monday, April 24, 2023,” the statement said. Iraq is co-operating with other countries to evacuate its citizens, foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Al Sahaf said. He added that so far, 14 Iraqis have been evacuated from Khartoum to Port Sudan. Jordan 's foreign ministry said four military planes left Port Sudan airport overnight heading to Amman with 343 evacuees on board. Jordanian citizens made up most of the evacuees but there were also Palestinians, Germans, Syrians and Iraqis on board, the ministry said. A military plane carrying 101 evacuees landed in Berlin on Monday morning, a German military source said. The military said it had so far evacuated 313 from Sudan. Der Spiegel said Germany had to turn back three military transport planes that were originally due to start taking people out of Sudan last Wednesday. On Monday, Sweden said that its embassy staff in Khartoum and their dependents, in addition to a number of civilians, were flown to Djibouti. The Danish government said six of its citizens had chosen to remain in Sudan. The Spanish government said it flew out about 100 people, including 30 Spanish citizens and 70 others from Europe and Latin America. They were taken from Khartoum to Djibouti at about 11pm local time on Sunday. Citizens of Argentina, Colombia, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Poland, Mexico, Venezuela and Sudan were also on the plane, the Spanish government said. France said it had helped transport 388 people out of Sudan while Italy evacuated about 300 people, according to the countries' foreign ministries. “We reiterate the call for a ceasefire and resumption of dialogue in Sudan,” Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares tweeted. Endre Stiansen, Norway's ambassador to Sudan, tweeted from a “safe place” outside the country that he feared for the future of his Sudanese colleagues and friends. Switzerland has closed its embassy in Khartoum and evacuated staff and their families, the Swiss foreign ministry wrote on Twitter. Ireland said it was sending an emergency team to assist with evacuating its citizens and their dependents. Egypt, Sudan's neighbour to the north, said it had evacuated 436 citizens by land. Long convoys of UN vehicles and buses were seen leaving Khartoum, heading east to Port Sudan, about 850km away on the Red Sea, carrying “citizens from all over the world”, according to one Sierra Leonean evacuee. Several other nations have also begun evacuating their citizens from Sudan, including the UK and US . On Sunday, Saudi Arabia 's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell held a telephone call to discuss Sudan. “Protection of civilians is a priority,” Mr Borrell tweeted after the call. The World Health Organisation said the death toll had climbed to more than 420. The Sudan Doctors' Trade Union said 264 civilians had been killed and 1,543 injured. “Out of Khartoum's 79 hospitals, 55 are out of service,” the union said in a Facebook post. Thirteen hospitals have been struck during the fighting and 19 were forcefully evacuated, it said.

UN chief Antonio Guterres urges leaders to pull Sudan back from 'edge of the abyss'

Secretary General says he is in constant contact with parties to the conflict, calling on them to de-escalate tension and return to negotiating table