“We have made every effort for 96 hours to keep Canadians safe,” General Wayne Eyre said during his testimony before the Senate National Security Committee.

However, he pointed out that the state of Sudan’s infrastructure is currently making it difficult to repatriate citizens stranded in the country.

“Khartoum’s main international airport is closed and our other options in the region are extremely limited,” the chief of staff revealed.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced in a statement late Monday afternoon that a ceasefire would begin in Sudan at midnight, “following intense negotiations over the past 48 hours.”

Mr Blinken also said the United States would coordinate its actions with those of other countries and Sudanese civilians to create a committee to oversee the permanent cessation of fighting.

Global Affairs Canada has provided very little information on efforts to date to extract Canadian citizens, or even its own personnel, from Sudan. But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave a small update on Monday afternoon in Ottawa at a photo op with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

“I learned this morning that a German plane took off from Khartoum with a German citizen and 58 Canadian citizens on board,” he said. We also have a C-17 (aircraft) in the region and we will also provide air transport.”

Heavy gunfire and deafening explosions rocked Khartoum Monday as fighting continued between the national army and a rival paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces.

More than 420 people, including at least 273 civilians, have been killed and more than 3,700 injured since fighting began on April 15 after power-sharing negotiations between the two sides deteriorated rapidly.

Canadians must register

Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said earlier Monday that Canada was working “with allied countries” to help citizens remaining in Sudan flee the country.

Minister Joly tweeted that Global Affairs Canada is trying to contact all Canadians in Sudan who have registered with the government. She recalls that Canadians in Sudan must register or update their personal information with the Registration Service for Canadians Abroad.

Global Affairs Canada is in touch with Canadians on our registry.➡️Canadians in Sudan should register or update their personal information through the Canadian Abroad Registry Service at the link below: https://t.co/AfIp7CHSZq

— Melanie Joly (@melaniejoly) April 24, 2023

A Canadian woman in Khartoum, Waddaha Medani, said she received an email from the Canadian government at 2:45 a.m. local time Monday night asking her to “book a seat on an evacuation flight” scheduled for noon is scheduled for this day.

But with the country’s internet and phone services largely down over the weekend, she didn’t receive the email until later in the afternoon and said she didn’t receive a direct response from Ottawa’s Emergency Watch and Response Center Monday night.

“We’re already frustrated, we already don’t know what’s happening and what’s going to happen. And the communication is fundamentally bad,” she said in an interview.

The 29-year-old said she was considering making a dangerous trip Tuesday morning to an air force base on the outskirts of town, where her sister in Ottawa got wind of a suspected evacuation flight. “They keep saying there’s a truce right now, but they don’t really respect it. We still hear gunshots.”

As of Monday, 1,473 Canadians were officially registered in Sudan, but experts say the number of Canadians there is likely much higher.

Port Sudan and the Red Sea

Sudanese are trying to escape amid explosions, gunfire and gunmen looting shops and homes. Food and fuel prices are rising and these items are harder to find; Hospitals are on the verge of collapse.

Amid this chaos, a ballet of military planes from Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia flew over Khartoum all Sunday and Monday to take out foreign nationals who walked in great tension by armed militants stationed on the city’s front lines.

France was given the use of a military base on the outskirts of Khartoum, which served as an extraction point for nearly 500 people of various nationalities who traveled there in their own vehicles or with private security personnel.

Others have traveled hundreds of miles to Port Sudan in the east, where boats can depart to cross the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia — and its airports.

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Washington has placed intelligence and reconnaissance assets along the ground evacuation route from the capital to the port to help protect convoys carrying evacuees. He said the United States has no military on the ground.

Still, US special forces conducted a precarious evacuation of the US embassy in Khartoum on Sunday, ground-sweeping the capital with helicopters for less than an hour. No shots were fired and no major casualties were reported.

Diplomats evacuated

Global Affairs Canada has confirmed that US special forces evacuated six Canadians who were either diplomats or their dependents along with dozens of other diplomats from different countries on Sunday.

“Canada expresses its gratitude to the United States for its support,” the ministry said Monday.

Canada suspended consular services in the East African country on Sunday. However, evacuee diplomats are working from Djibouti to offer advice to Canadians stranded in the country, including where to find essentials like fuel and medicine.

They also help Canadians who have found their own way to walk.

As of August 2022, the embassy in Khartoum had six Canadian-based staff and 12 local staff, according to data filed by the department with a Senate committee.

Ottawa is not evacuating its locally employed Sudanese staff and is ensuring all possible options are explored to assist them.

Immigration Secretary Sean Fraser also announced Monday that his department will allow Sudanese citizens in Canada to apply for a free extension of their status and change their temporary category to continue studying, working or living with their family.

“These measures would ensure the safety of the Sudanese population already residing in Canada, keep families together and provide them with a safe place to stay,” the press release said.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will also facilitate immigration applications for those still in Sudan once travel is safe. This means that applications for temporary and permanent residence that already exist in the system, such as B. Applications for family reunification and visitor visas.

The Ministry is also waiving passport and travel document fees for permanent residents of Sudan who are eligible and wish to leave the country.