Berlin: As nations raced to get their citizens out of Khartoum while a tenuous ceasefire held in the capital of Sudan, a German air force plane carrying 101 people who had been evacuated from that country touched down in Berlin early on Monday.

Thousands of foreigners, including diplomats and aid workers, are stranded as a result of Sudan's sudden descent into conflict between the army and a paramilitary group called Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The first group was flown back to Berlin on Monday aboard an Airbus A321 from the Al Azrak base in Jordan, which is serving as a hub for the evacuation operation. The Luftwaffe has so far flown out 311 people from an airfield near Khartoum, according to the German military.

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The number of evacuated people who were either German or foreign nationals was not broken down by the German military.

A humanitarian crisis has been sparked by the fighting in Sudan, leaving millions of people there without access to basic services.

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Since the fighting began on April 15, four years after long-reigning autocrat Omar al-Bashir was overthrown, at least 420 people have died.

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Together, the army and RSF staged a coup in 2021, but their disagreements during talks to unite the two groups and form a civilian government increased the risk of a larger conflict that might involve foreign powers.