The Chinese army has sent navy ships to evacuate Chinese citizens from Sudan amid clashes that have been going on for 11 days between the army and paramilitaries, the Chinese Defense Ministry announced Thursday.
At a press conference, the ministry’s spokesman, Tan Kefei, explained that China seeks to protect the lives and property of its citizens in the African country, where “security conditions have continued to deteriorate” in recent days.
Tan did not specify how many ships will be sent to Sudan. China this week began evacuating groups of citizens to neighboring countries.
According to data released by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, more than a thousand Chinese citizens were living in Sudan at the time the fighting began.
China has a strong economic presence in Sudan, despite continued political turmoil in the Islamic country since it split in two in 2011 following the formation of South Sudan after decades of civil war.
More than 130 Chinese companies invest and operate in Sudan, which is also home to a large Chinese workforce. China is also Sudan’s largest trading partner, with a total trade volume of US$2.6 billion (€2.35 billion) in 2021.
Chinese companies in Sudan are involved in infrastructure construction, with a market share of more than 50% in works contracts.
According to China’s Ministry of Commerce, Chinese companies signed 40 new contracts in Sudan in 2020.
Last week, several countries, such as the United States, Japan, Spain and South Korea, announced the sending of planes to Djibouti -a small country some 1,700 kilometers from Khartoum and where both the US and China have bases-, to coordinate the removal. .
India also dispatched a navy ship on Monday to transfer some of its citizens in Sudan to safety.
Asked about the situation, a spokesman for Chinese diplomacy last week called for a ceasefire and the resumption of dialogue.
“China hopes all parties in Sudan will strengthen dialogue and jointly promote the political transition process,” he said.
According to the Sudan Doctors Union, at least 512 people have been killed in the country and more than 4,000 injured since the outbreak of hostilities. The same source said the number could be much higher due to the inability of medical teams to access areas where the fighting is most intense.
The African country was governed, before the outbreak of the fighting, by a junta headed by General Abdelfata al Burhan, whose “number two” was the leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
Disagreements between the two over integrating the RFS into a future unified army, an agreement prior to the formation of a new civilian-led unity government, eventually degenerated into this conflict, which began on April 15.
Source: TSF
