The 22 Belgians currently based in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum are “all safe” despite continued violent clashes between the country’s army and paramilitary forces, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Saturday.
“The 22 Belgians in Khartoum are all safe,” the spokesperson stated. “We have contacted all Belgians present in Sudan who are registered with the embassy and they are fine. Most of them are there for professional reasons and we have not received any request for assistance. Everything is under control.”
However, the spokesperson added that there is no obligation for Belgian nationals to register with the embassy, and that therefore the number of Belgians present in Sudan may well be higher than 22.
Belgium does not have diplomatic representation in Khartoum. “But we have an embassy in Cairo that has jurisdiction over Khartoum. And we are in contact with the Dutch embassy there,” the Foreign Ministry said, indicating that it was closely monitoring the situation.
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Up to 56 civilians were killed on Saturday in Sudan, while up to 600 people were injured, according to a local doctors’ organisation. Tensions between the military and various paramilitary forces since a 2021 coup has degenerated in the capital into street fighting, air raids and verbal threats issued through the media.
Within hours of the eruption of the violence on Saturday morning, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary force of General Mohamed Hamdane Daglo said they had taken over the international airport and the presidential palace. They called called on the whole Sudanese population to rise up against the army.
Meanwhile, the army, commanded by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane, Sudan’s de facto ruler since his October 2021 coup, claimed to have mobilised the air force against the “enemy.”
