On the morning of Tuesday, April 25, the C-27J Spartan military aircraft is expected to arrive at the 112th combat wing in Elefsina with the first 15 Greeks rescued from the war zone in Sudan.
The Deputy Minister of National Defense Nikos Hardalias, doctors and members of the Crisis Management Unit are also on board the C-27. They will be welcomed by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andreas Katsaniotis upon their arrival.
It is recalled that the Greek aircraft was in the Aswan base in Egypt for the last few days. On Monday afternoon, the aircraft traveled to Djibouti in order to pick up the first group of Greeks who have been rescued in operations coordinated by French and Italian teams.
Finally, it should be noted that according to an announcement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias will inform the parliamentary parties about the situation in Sudan, in a meeting he will have with their representatives, at 12:00.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday announced that the warring factions in Sudan agreed to a a ceasefire, “starting at midnight on April 24, to last for 72 hours.”
The agreement between the Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, and the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, came “following intense negotiation over the past 48 hours,” Blinken said.
The SAF and RSF have said they had agreed to multiple ceasefires over the past 10 days, including one for the Eid al-Fitr holiday this past weekend, all of which broke down.
“During this period, the United States urges the SAF and RSF to immediately and fully uphold the ceasefire,” Blinken said. “To support a durable end to the fighting, the United States will coordinate with regional and international partners, and Sudanese civilian stakeholders, to assist in the creation of a committee to oversee the negotiation, conclusion, and implementation of a permanent cessation of hostilities and humanitarian arrangements in Sudan.”
Previously agreed ceasefires have not held but if the three-day cessation of fighting holds it could create an opportunity to get much-needed critical resources like food and medical supplies to those in need.
It could also allow for the safe passage of the “dozens” of Americans who Blinken said have expressed interest in leaving Sudan.
Although a number of nations are evacuating their citizens, US officials have repeatedly said they do not plan to evacuate Americans from the country due to conditions on the ground.
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told CNN’s “This Morning” Monday the situation in Sudan “is not conducive and not safe to try to conduct some kind of a larger military evacuation of American citizens.”
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Monday, however, that the US government is “actively facilitating the departure of American citizens who want to leave Sudan” through means like overland convoys.
All US government employees were evacuated from Khartoum in a US military operation and the US embassy was “temporarily” closed this weekend after a week of heavy fighting between rival military factions which has left hundreds dead and thousands wounded.
President Joe Biden has asked for “every conceivable option” to help Americans who remain in Sudan, Sullivan said.
“Right now, we believe that the best way for us to help facilitate people’s departure is in fact to support this land evacuation route, as well as work with allies and partners who are working on their own evacuation plans as well,” he said at a White House briefing.
Blinken, who noted that the US does not have specific counts of how many Americans are in Sudan “because Americans are not required to register” with the US State Department, said the US has been in touch with American citizens on the ground to provide “consular services, other services, advice.”
“We do know of course the number of Americans who have registered with us, and with whom we’re in very active touch, communication. Of those, I would say some dozens have expressed an interest in leaving,” Blinken said at a news conference at the State Department.
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