It is time for the evacuation of foreigners in Sudan, with the capital Khartoum in the grip of extremely violent clashes between armies and paramilitaries for over a week now .

Defense has launched the operation. « The evacuation activities of our compatriots are coordinated by the joint operational command. Two Air Force C-130s have already taken off at 13.55 Italian time from Djibouti to Khartoum with personnel from the Italian Army and Carabinieri special forces on board. The security of the airports is ensured by the air riflemen of the air force », explained the Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto.

The United States has completed the evacuation of its embassy personnel , conducted via US military aircraft. France for its part has begun a "rapid evacuation operation" of its citizens and diplomatic personnel.

Italy is organizing the evacuation of our compatriots with military aircraft already stationed in Djibouti, the small military base-state nestled between Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia. The situation is too dangerous and there are about 140 Italian civilians stranded in Sudan, "they have been contacted and they are all well," said Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani .

«There are 140 Italian citizens who need to be evacuated, the meeting point is the embassy which is fully operational and then there are the soldiers who will be involved in the rescue operations. We will also contribute to the evacuation of the Swiss and the apostolic nunciature and about twenty European citizens. About 200 civilians will have to be evacuated by our military, we are working to do it by night ,” added Tajani.

We are working on a replica of the Afghanistan operation, but this time dedicated only to Italian citizens. « Dear compatriots, with our Ministry of Defense we are working on a window of opportunity to leave Khartoum by air, which could take place today, Sunday 23 April. The meeting point will be at the residence of the Italian Ambassador by 12.00 »: this is the text of a message sent by the Foreign Ministry's Crisis Unit to the Italians trapped in the Sudanese capital by the fighting between the army and the paramilitaries.