Mario Pröhl knows the dangers of the road. “Every marshal in a contested region can be a deadly trap,” says the burly security adviser, who was a soldier in the Bundeswehr’s elite unit, the “Special Forces Command” (KSK), for 17 years.
The 51-year-old has watched from afar as countless Germans and other foreigners have fled by car since the end of April from the embattled Sudanese capital Khartoum, where the government army and the rebels of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are fighting heavy battles.
Crisis team is worried about up to 300 Germans in Sudan
Pröhl knows that there are always dangers lurking on the way to the ferry in Port Sudan, 700 kilometers away, with the subsequent passage to Saudi Arabia or on the way to the Egyptian border in the north. “How do you know who is giving the order to stop,” says the former KSK fighter. “It can be one of the rebels or a corrupt government soldier who demands money to continue the journey. In the worst case, it is a bandit who takes you hostage and wants to blackmail you for ransom.”
311 Germans were spared this ordeal – they were flown out aboard three A400M military transport aircraft, protected and secured by 1,000 Bundeswehr soldiers.
Does that make everyone safe?
“No,” says an employee of the crisis team in Berlin, who wishes to remain anonymous. “We are currently assuming that 150 to 300 Germans are still in Sudan. Including certainly those who want to stay there for private or family reasons. But the majority may not have been able to report to the embassy. The electricity and telephone network are not working. We have no contact with them. We have serious concerns about these people.” Reports of robbery and looting are increasing every day. In view of the massive fighting in the country, it is unclear to what extent Germans are affected.
The Bundeswehr soldiers of the “Fast Forces Division”, commanded by Major General Dirk Faust, have long since returned to their barracks in Germany. The special officers of the Federal Police from the special unit “Personenschutz Ausland” (PSA), who had to evacuate the diplomats and the staff of the German Embassy, have also withdrawn.
Cooperation between Germany and the USA: that’s the way it should be among brothers in arms
From the German side, only one unit of the Special Forces Command is currently in the region. The elite fighters are monitoring the situation in Sudan from Jordan. Specializing in rescuing hostages, the KSK team could be called upon when German citizens get into trouble.
When the KSK brought Germans from Afghanistan to safety in August 2021, the US Army provided soldiers and helicopters for rescue operations. Diplomats from the US Embassy in Kabul persuaded the Taliban not to interfere with the KSK’s operation. Large wads of dollars are said to have voted the Taliban leaders to cooperate. Now, against the background of the conflict in Sudan, the Germans could rush to the aid of the Americans in case of need. “That’s how it should be among brothers-in-arms,” says an officer from the Bundeswehr Operations Command.
Former KSK Captain Oliver Schneider, once a liaison officer to the US Navy Seals and Delta Force special forces, says: “Nobody knows how the situation in Sudan will develop. In general, we are prepared for all dangerous situations, also in association with our US comrades.”
14,500 Americans still in Sudan
The Americans face a mammoth task. According to a senior German government official, 14,500 of their compatriots are still in Sudan. For the evacuation of so many people, a powerful force that was previously little known to the public was stationed in Somalia: the “Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command”, MARSOC for short, founded in 2006.
2500 men of this unit could guarantee a robust use. At the moment, however, the commanders in Washington are relying on diplomacy: Under no circumstances, according to the Pentagon, do the Americans want to get caught between the fronts in a tough rescue operation.
