Two Canadian evacuation flights have left Sudan, with more being planned, officials say

OTTAWA-Two Canadian military flights left Sudan at less than full capacity on Thursday as the federal government staged its first direct airlifts to evacuate citizens of Canada and other countries from the deadly conflict gripping the northeast African nation, federal officials said.

As of midday, officials still had not said how many Canadians were on those flights. But overall, the first plane had 45 passengers and the second had 73 - including Canadians and an unspecified number of people from other countries, officials said.

Officials briefing journalists on the operation in Ottawa Thursday morning, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said those flights could each have carried 100 evacuees, but that numbers were limited because of dangers on the ground. That includes concerns about moving in darkness and reports of extortion" en route to the airport, one of the officials said.

Another official said that the aircraft captains of the CC-130 Hercules planes used in these evacuations have the authority to decide how many people should board before taking off.

The two flights that took off from Sudan on Thursday were travelling to neighbouring Djibouti, where passengers would board planes chartered by the Canadian government to carry them to Nairobi, Kenya, the officials said. Canadians will be responsible for onward travel from there, which is routine policy for international evacuations, though the government has approved more than $170,000 in emergency loans to help 70 travellers, officials said.

Earlier, at an event in Nova Scotia, Defence Minister Anita Anand had announced the first successful evacuation flight as very good news" and pledged that the Canadian military was now positioned to try and stage further airlifts or help people get out by land or sea.

Planning is occurring as we speak to ensure the maximum number of Canadians can be evacuated as soon as possible," Anand said.

Canada's first evacuation flights out of Sudan come after 12 days of deadly fighting in the country. Until now, the federal government had relied on flights from other countries to carry Canadians out of the conflict zone. By Thursday, more than 200 Canadians had left Sudan on such flights, officials said.

Officials also said another 108 Canadians in Sudan have asked for help leaving, on top of 130 more who are currently considering it.

The government has been contacting Canadians with and without documentation, as well as permanent residents, about the evacuations, officials said. Ottawa is also looking at approving family members of citizens and permanent residents for evacuation, they said.

Violence erupted in Sudan on April 15, with factions of the country's army fighting a paramilitary group in the capital of Khartoum and beyond. The Associated Press reported Thursday that residents spoke of armed fighters who battled and looted shops in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region, violating an already-fragile truce between the groups engaged in a deadly power struggle.

More than 450 people have been killed and more than 4,000 injured so far, with attacks on hospitals and increasing challenges in obtaining essential goods like food, water and medicine, according to the United Nations.

On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said around 700 Canadians in Sudan have requested help getting out of the country. In recent days, several other countries have managed to send planes into Sudan to evacuate their citizens. Scores of Canadians have been taken on those flights, as this country's military positioned planes and personnel in the region in recent days.

Government officials speaking about the situation Thursday described the current ceasefire as tenuously-holding," with one official stating that the Canadian military is concerned both sides of the conflict could resume combat after using the lull in fighting to resupply.

But for the moment, the combatants are not targeting Canadian and other foreign personnel who are supporting evacuations, so the government plans to stage further airlifts as conditions allow, the official said.

It's a very tenuous situation on the ground and we're watching this very closely with our closest allies."

Alex Ballingall is an Ottawa-based reporter covering federal politics for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @aballinga