Canadian recounts how he escaped from Sudan amid fighting
CTV
A Canadian living in Khartoum recounts how he escaped from Sudan amid fighting between Sudan’s military and the Rapid Support Force.
The first sign that Sudan was on the brink of civil war was when bomb blasts erupted in Khartoum just after 9 a.m. local time on April 15. Canadian mining consultant Colin Crane could hear the explosions from his machine shop and immediately felt a sense of foreboding.
"I had never been scared in Sudan until then," said Crane, 62, who recounted his ordeal to CTV News from his home in Edmonton after he was airlifted out of Sudan on the first Canadian Armed Forces flight.
He had worked in the northeastern African nation for more than two decades, searching for gold and oil, and was used to the loud protests that would periodically take over the capital—but the sound of machine gun fire that punctuated the air unnerved him.
Khartoum was falling into the grips of urban warfare as Sudan's army battled the Rapid Support Force—a militia group—for control of the country. The streets of the capital city were ground zero in their fight.
As the first explosions were heard, Crane scrambled to collect his work equipment and rushed home. In his haste to get to the safety of his apartment, he left behind his Canadian passport.
Crane lived in the Jabra district of Khartoum. When he returned to his apartment, he heard shots being fired and heavily armed Sudanese government soldiers chasing security guards from his residence. Crane said he barricaded himself inside his apartment, purchased extra data on his cell phone and emailed the Canadian embassy in Khartoum for help.
"I'm currently sheltered in place…I would like to be informed if there is any evacuation planned for Canadian citizens," Crane wrote in an email he provided to CTV News.