The Swiss foreign ministry has announced on Twitter that due to the security situation in Sudan, Switzerland has closed its embassy there and evacuated staff members and their families.
“Our staff and their families have been evacuated and are safe,” Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis tweeted late on Sunday.
Seven members of the embassy staff and five guests were evacuated, according to the Foreign Ministry. They were all in good health, with two of them traveling to the neighboring country of Ethiopia and the remainder being evacuated with French assistance to Djibouti.
“The exercise was made possible thanks to collaboration with our partners, in particular France,” Cassis said.
Assistance for Swiss nationals trapped in Sudan was still being provided. On Friday, the Swiss foreign ministry reported that there were approximately 100 Swiss people registered in Sudan, while other Swiss citizens are reportedly on vacation in the Red Sea region.
More than a week ago, combat broke out between opposing military forces, leading to a humanitarian crisis, the deaths of 420 people, and the isolation of millions of Sudanese without access to essential amenities.
Countries are scrambling to rescue their citizens as well as the thousands of foreigners who have been left trapped, including diplomats and charity workers.
On Monday, France announced that it was still evacuating people and has so far succeeded in doing so for 388.
While a tenuous ceasefire persisted in the capital of Sudan, a German air force plane carrying 101 individuals who had been evacuated from Sudan made an early Monday landing in Berlin.