Diplomats from the United States and Britain have left Sudan while other countries still scrambled Sunday to evacuate their own citizens from the north-eastern African country where heavy fighting has been raging between rival military groups for over a week.

The State Department in Washington confirmed that the US has completed the evacuation of just under 100 people, including all of its embassy personnel and their families as well as several diplomats from other countries.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said operations at the embassy had been temporarily suspended.

“Suspending operations at one of our embassies is always a difficult decision, but the safety of our personnel is my first responsibility,” he said.

Blinken referred to “serious and growing security risks” in the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Sudan’s de facto president and commander-in-chief of the army, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, on Saturday said he had agreed to facilitate the evacuation of foreign civilians and diplomats from the embattled country.

Britain also reported on Sunday that British diplomats and their families had been successfully brought to safety.

France and the Netherlands spoke of ongoing evacuations while Sweden, Belgium, Greece and Italy said they are working on getting their nationals out of Khartoum.

Germany’s armed forces have also launched a new attempt at flying out German nationals, with military transport planes reportedly on their way to Sudan, according to information obtained by dpa.

A first evacuation attempt by the Bundeswehr was halted on Wednesday because of the security situation in the African country.

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry meanwhile said that one of its embassy staff members in Sudan had sustained a gunshot wound, without providing further details.

Also on Sunday, the ministry said Egypt has started steps to evacuate a number of its citizens from “safe areas” in the neighbouring country.

Egypt shares a long border with Sudan and is home to a big Sudanese expat community whose numbers could rise significantly due to the ongoing conflict.

A Saudi Arabian group was evacuated from the eastern city of Port Sudan on Saturday. A Jordanian delegation was also to be flown out of Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

According to the Saudi television channel al-Arabiya, five Saudi ships also brought more than 150 people from Sudan to the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah, among them diplomats and citizens from more than 10 countries.

Fighting broke out in Sudan about a week ago between the country’s two most powerful generals and their respective military units.

According to the World Health Organization, at least 413 people have been killed and more than 3,500 have been injured since the clashes began.

According to Sudan’s National Medical Committee, fighting between the rival factions continued on Sunday.

The number of civilians killed was rising daily, the committee said. However, there is not yet a complete overview of the extent of the casualties.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan discussed the ongoing conflict during a phone call on Sunday.

Borrell wrote afterwards on Twitter that he and his Saudi counterpart “share concerns” surrounding the military escalation.

US President Joe Biden also called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire.

“This tragic violence in Sudan has already cost the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians. It’s unconscionable and it must sto.”

Biden said while the US embassy was suspended, “our commitment to the Sudanese people and the future they want for themselves is unending.”

In his call for a halt to the hostilities, he was joined by Pope Francis who appealed to the parties to the conflict to stop the violence as soon as possible and to take the “path of dialogue.”

“Unfortunately, the situation in Sudan remains serious. I invite everyone to pray for our Sudanese brothers and sisters,” the pontiff said in St. Peter’s Square in Rome on Sunday.