Tokyo, April 19 (AFP\/APP): Japan is preparing to evacuate its countrymen from Sudan, the government said on Wednesday, the first nation to publicly announce plans to pull its citizens from the conflict-hit country.<\/p>\n
Violence between the Sudanese army and paramilitaries has killed around 200 people since a weeks-long power struggle erupted into deadly battles on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The intense conflict has seen air strikes, tanks on the streets, artillery fire and heavy gunfire in crowded neighbourhoods in the capital Khartoum and other cities.<\/p>\n
Around 60 Japanese people are in Sudan, including embassy staff, top government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno said.<\/p>\n
The defence ministry has begun the “necessary preparations” for evacuations, he told an emergency press conference.<\/p>\n
“As the security situation there is worsening, the government is doing its utmost to secure the safety of Japanese expatriates,” Matsuno said.<\/p>\n
Other nations have urged their citizens in Sudan to provide their names and contact details to their embassies.<\/p>\n
The US embassy in Khartoum has started gathering citizens’ personal details while urging them to remain indoors and stay away from windows.<\/p>\n
“Due to the uncertain security situation in Khartoum and closure of the airport, there are no plans for (a) US government-coordinated evacuation,” the embassy tweeted.<\/p>\n
Berlin aborted an evacuation attempt for its citizens from Sudan on Wednesday, according to German weekly Der Spiegel.<\/p>\n
Three military transport planes, which would have carried around 150 German citizens, headed for the country but were made to turn back, according to the magazine.<\/p>\n
International calls are mounting for an end to hostilities in the African country, with G7 foreign ministers on Tuesday urging an immediate ceasefire between the warring forces.<\/p>\n
The sides are led by two generals who seized power in a 2021 coup: Sudan’s army chief and his deputy, who commands the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tokyo, April 19 (AFP\/APP): Japan is preparing to evacuate its countrymen from Sudan, the government said on Wednesday, the first nation to publicly announce plans to pull its citizens from the conflict-hit country. Violence between the Sudanese army and paramilitaries has killed around 200 people […]<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":76400,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-world-news"],"yoast_head":"\n