The government fears Putin’s advance in Sudan. The alarm of the services and the conundrum of the embassy

Rome. Now that the evacuation is coming to a successful conclusion, the fear lies precisely in that void. That is, that which with the total withdrawal of European diplomats has been created in Sudan, and which risks fatally being occupied by those who are betting more and more in that area: namely Putin. Here, then, is the horror vacui: here is the fear that already on Friday, in a restricted summit at Palazzo Chigi in which the rescue of compatriots present in the African country was planned, it was reported to Giorgia Meloni by the director of Aise John Caravelli. And it then explains why, just as his return to Rome was being prepared, there was also thought of a possible return to Khartoum, in a reasonably short time, of Ambassador Michele Tommasi. (Valentini continues on page four)
Therefore, reopening the embassy: this would be a priority. Of course, not immediately. The choice must be weighed carefully, without hazards which, in the Sudanese powder keg, could become unforgivable. And of course, how fundamental it is to have a garrison in that country, it was noted even in the most tribulated hours of the general evacuation. It was actually the residence of Ambassador Tommasi, in fact, one of the two meeting points of which the Farnesina crisis unit, led by Nicola Minasi, provided the coordinates via SMS to the Italians present in Sudan. And not only to Italians, but also to other European citizens on their way back, the Italian embassy has offered emergency hospitality. From there, moreover, it was enough to walk a handful of hundreds of meters to arrive at the Khartoum airport.
Except that the clashes of the last few days have made it virtually unusable; for which an increase of concern has become necessary for all. And so, all the refugees in the embassy, ​​and even those temporarily sorted into the other collection center, in the headquarters of the NGO OVCI, were made to get on convoys in the direction of Wadi Seidna, thirty kilometers to the north, with a transfer not without of apprehension, if it is true that for half of the journey the vans were escorted by the Sudanese Armed Forces, who at one point handed over the vehicles to rival janjaweed militiamen, with the risk that something could go wrong. All this, that is, done on the basis of the guarantees that our intelligence and our diplomacy, from Antonio Tajani downwards, had obtained from the two contending generals, Abdel Fattah Al Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, both contacted in the past few hours. So north, going up the Nile after crossing it, up to the military base of Wadi Seidna, where special forces troops, arrived from Djibouti, were waiting for the convoy. From there, on two separate flights – an Italian C-130, with 63 compatriots on board, a Spanish nuncio with a Vatican passport, and a Spanish AM-400, which hosted another 35 Italians – the journey to Djibouti. Then, finally, departure towards Ciampino.
And that would perhaps be enough to give a sense of the chaos that reigns in Sudan. The Italian decision to remove the tents was inevitable, and it came about as a result of similar decisions taken by the Americans and the French, who more than anyone else have contacts and interests in the area. But leaving – this applies to Italy, but more generally to Europe and NATO – cannot mean abandoning the ground, dismantling any diplomatic and operational garrison. The Aise, our foreign secret services, had recently built some useful outposts, between Khartoum and its surroundings, aware that Sudan was one of the five African countries over which the Kremlin’s influence was most effectively exercised, at least as of 2019, via Wagner. On whose overflowing presence in the area, moreover, we now have all too tangible evidence, and even American intelligence is underlining the interest of the militias loyal to Evgeni Prigozhin in the region, starting with the attempts to foment imminent upheavals in neighboring Chad . It would be yet another pawn in the “African risk” about which, at the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, then Defense Minister Lorenzo Guerini warned his government colleagues in a private meeting. His successor, Guido Crosetto, has shared the same analyzes in more recent times, finding convergence of views with Tajani. Emmanuel Macron, moreover, after the overthrow of the regime in Mali propitiated by Moscow, did not think too much about it: and a few weeks ago he finally announced his retreat, closing the era of françafrique, for fear of having to otherwise suffer new jolts in Burkina Faso and even in Niger, the last real western garrison in the Sahel. For this reason the Sudanese civil war becomes decisive beyond its drama: because if the RSF militias of Dagalo, supplied not too subtly by Wagner’s mercenaries, had the upper hand, the entire sub-Saharan belt would end up in the orbit of Moscow. Such a sensational risk, such a cumbersome presence, that even from Egypt, which certainly does not disdain to have agreements with the Kremlin, signs of concern have also been received by our diplomats. For this reason, therefore, one leaves Sudan but does not run away. Or at least that’s the intention. Retreat, but without abandoning. It applies to the entire Euto-Atlantic alliance. And it also applies to Italy. The embassy in Khartoum, hastily closed in the face of the precipitation of events, efforts will be made to reopen it as soon as possible. When, however, it is still impossible to say.