No easy escape options for Alberta man stuck with hundreds more Canadians in Sudan

Tim Sanborn, of Cochrane, Alta., is one of hundreds of Canadians currently trapped in Sudan, where fighting between the country's top two generals has raged for nearly a week, making flights out of the country impossible. 

In a hotel in Khartoum, the capital, Sanborn says he's on high alert. 

"A bullet went through the glass in the front foyer this morning," he told CBC on Thursday. "Nobody was hit, but, you know, but it's just a reminder of where you are." 

According to the World Health Organization, the death toll from the conflict has risen to 330, with around 3,200 people wounded. 

Sandborn, a father of two, traveled to Africa's third-largest country for his employer, which builds agricultural machinery and exports it across the globe. 

When the conflict started Saturday, he was in a hotel near the city's international airport, which has been the target of heavy shelling. Satellite images show destroyed planes littering the tarmac.

"We experienced this massive, massive artillery and bombings every morning, starting at dawn each day," Sanborn said. "For probably two to three hours each morning, it was just unbearable, it was just constant, heavy bombing, shrapnel flying, sporadic gunfire getting closer to the hotel." 

On Wednesday morning, the company for which his employer is working transported him to another hotel in Khartoum that's housing other Canadians. Sanborn says his previous hotel was running out of supplies, such as water and diesel to run the generator. 

While Sanborn says he feels safer around fellow Canadians, he's "not completely satisfied" with what he's heard from Ottawa. 

So far, the government has advised Canadians in the country to shelter in place. Sanborn said that people from other countries appear to be more informed and connected to their fellow countrymen inside Sudan. 

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly told CBC News on Thursday that evacuating citizens and diplomatic staff from Khartoum is not an option currently due to security risks and fighting near the airport. 

"The situation renders it impossible at the moment," she said. "We are assessing the situation constantly."

WATCH | Foreign affairs minister discusses situation in Sudan

Foreign minister says evacuations from Sudan are 'impossible' right now

2 years ago

Duration 1:13

Foreign Minister Melanie Joly says her office is keeping a close eye on the situation on the ground but evacuations are not possible right now because the airport is closed and the streets are unsafe.

Global Affairs Canada (GAC) said roughly 1,500 Canadians have notified the government that they are in Sudan, adding that that figure is likely lower than the actual number. 

In a statement, GAC said its embassy in Sudan is currently closed to the public and it's looking at all options to support staff on the ground.

Conservative MP Blake Richards, who represents the Cochrane area, said he's concerned about Sanborn's situation. 

Sanborn has private evacuation insurance through his employer. He said there's talk of escaping by land with a private company. However, that's currently not his preferred option for escape. 

"The most desirable option is to fly out on a government flag plane that's a humanitarian effort, not some kind of clandestine night move," he said. 

The fighting in Sudan is a power struggle between Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the commander of the army, and Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of a paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces. 

The two generals were former allies who orchestrated a military coup in 2021 that upset the country's transition to democracy. According to The New York Times, the two were close to a deal to diffuse their conflict just days before the fighting erupted. 

While attempts at a ceasefire have failed so far, there's hope that the Eid al-Fitr holiday brings a temporary halt to the bloodshed. 

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appealed to the combatants to commit to a three-day ceasefire to coincide with the holiday starting Friday.

For Sanborn, it'll all depend on how both sides act following any announcement of a holiday ceasefire. He says he'd be hesitant to take a land route out of the country, as he's unsure how forces might act outside the capital. 

"I'm not that desperate yet," he said. 

The New York Times reported that the Pentagon is moving more troops to the nearby nation of Djibouti to prepare for a possible evacuation of U.S. embassy staff. However, U.S. officials said it would be difficult to evacuate embassy staff, not to mention the 19,000 American citizens believed to be in Sudan.