By Athena Papakosta

Giants are the business of many countries to remove diplomatic staff and civilians from Sudan as bloody fighting rages on for a 10th day, with hopes of a ceasefire fading for another 24 hours.

The successful airlift of United States personnel and civilians Saturday night to a safe location in Ethiopia increased pressure on other third countries to safely evacuate personnel and civilians from fighting Sudan.

France launched a rapid evacuation operation but reports said yesterday, Sunday, that its convoy had been hit, injuring a French national passenger. Although France’s foreign ministry had not confirmed the fact until last night, the two warring sides accuse each other of obstructing removal operations. In particular, Mr Sudanese army accused the paramilitary group, Rapid Support Forces, RSF of opening fire on the French convoy with the RSF claiming the convoy was hit by warplanes.

At the same time, the Sudanese also want to escape from the chaos. From the Darfur region in the west of the country, up to 20,000 people have reportedly crossed the border into Chad. Others leave Khartoum and – traversing life-threatening routes in buses and trucks – make it as far north as Egypt.

The appeals of students from other African countries, from the Middle East and Asia who remain trapped in Khartoum, are dramatic. “We traveled for 15 hours risking our lives,” an Egyptian dental student who traveled at least 1,000 kilometers amid fighting by bus told foreign news agencies.

The situation in Sudan is out of control. The densely populated capital of the country, Khartoum, looks like a ghost town and, unlike Darfur, has not “learned” battles. Today the capital of 5.9 million inhabitants resembles a war zone. Clashes over control of government buildings and Sudan’s presidential palace are raging between the residences.

The strikes have destroyed basic infrastructure with the result that citizens have been left without running water and/or electricity while basic supplies such as food and medicine are no longer sufficient and are difficult or even impossible to replenish since the ongoing conflicts and the many incidents of looting are strong deterrents to not leave the place where they have taken shelter for 10 days.

The situation in hospitals is also disastrous. Doctors warn that the Health System is now one breath away from complete collapse and reiterate that the number of dead and injured is much higher than the, so far, official count.

Yesterday the Internet connection was lost as well as the possibility of telephone communication in a large part of the country. As for the new ceasefire for the celebration of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr, it was once again not observed and with the end of the holy month of Ramadan, analysts note that the fighting will become fiercer.

Neither side, either the Sudanese army under Abdel Al Burhan or Mohamed Hamdan Daglo of the RSF, appears willing to back down. Instead, the two men remain hungry for power and determined to take it into their own hands.