International missions voice concern for security in Sudan

Several foreign diplomatic missions have issued security warnings to their citizens in response to the deteriorating security situation in Sudan. Warnings have been in place for some time; however the tone of recent messages has become more urgent.On Tuesday, the US Embassy in Khartoum issued a security alert “temporarily prohibiting all discretionary travel of US Government employees and their family members to Omdurman”. Situated on the western bank of the Nile, Omdurman is Sudan’s largest city; the country’s commercial heart.This weeks’ security alert follows a similar message from the US Embassy on 8 May, informing US citizens in Sudan that “due to heightened security threats, the Embassy is exercising caution by temporarily limiting the movements of official US citizens and family members. This includes, but is not limited to, avoiding public gatherings and avoiding locations frequented by Westerners.”The US security concerns were echoed with the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), which has issued a “negative advice” against all travel to Darfur, the Red Sea State border with Eritrea; the Abyei region; South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, while advising against all but essential travel to “areas west of the towns of An-Nahud in North Kordofan up to the Darfur border”.The British warning highlights “a high threat from terrorism, including kidnapping. “The FCO believes terrorists are planning to kidnap westerners in Sudan, probably in Khartoum”.The US and British concerns run parallel to warnings that have been issued by the Swiss and Dutch Embassies over the past few weeks.File photo