(26 Apr 2023)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Paris - 26 April 2023
1. Various of French military spokesperson Col. Pierre Gaudilliere sitting at table before interview
2. SOUNDBITE (French) Colonel Pierre Gaudilliere, French military spokesperson:
“This is a war between two parties that are very well armed, that are fighting each other, I am talking about Khartoum because that's really where our operation took place. There is heavy weaponry, whether it's aerial bombardment, artillery fire, rocket fire. So, it's really a very, very intense situation in terms of the fighting and with civilians, again of course Sudanese, but of all nationalities we talked about, caught in the middle of this war."
3. Gaudilliere's hands
4. SOUNDBITE (French) Colonel Pierre Gaudilliere, French military spokesperson:
“In any case, when we landed our planes, we were the first to do so at this airport, convoys were organised quite quickly and brought together French nationals and other nationals. The flow of evacuations went very well, and everyone was welcomed in the same way on our planes, by our teams, on the ground, on the planes and then in Djibouti."
5. Medals on Gaudilliere
6. SOUNDBITE (French) Colonel Pierre Gaudilliere, French military spokesperson:
“It was a very complex operation, like all operations to evacuate nationals, because everything needs to come together. First, to assessment of the situation (on the ground), that was constantly evolving and getting worse. Second, to decide to put military resources on alert and send them as close as possible to the place of operation, in this case Djibouti, because French armed forces are pre-positioned in Djibouti."
7. Gaudilliere speaking
8. SOUNDBITE (French) Colonel Pierre Gaudilliere, French military spokesperson:
“Then there is coordination between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Armed Forces, because the nationals must be identified and gathered before we can decide to intervene. And finally, there is the military complexity of it, to intervene in complete neutrality in a country at war and protect civilians who are tired, exhausted, and have been in a terrible condition for over a week."
9. Gaudilliere's hands
10. SOUNDBITE (French) Colonel Pierre Gaudilliere, French military spokesperson:
“So all of this, it has to be aligned. It went well. It's the mission of the French Armed Forces to protect their nationals. As I said, 500 people all together, including more than 300 foreigners were evacuated by air from more or less 40 different nationalities, it took nine aerial rotations, 10 convoys between the airport north of Khartoum and Khartoum, and then a set-up at the airport where they arrived beyond exhausted."
11. Various of Gaudilliere speaking during interview
STORYLINE:
A French military spokesperson said France has evacuated more than 500 civilians from
Sudan from 40 different nations by plane over the weekend.

Colonel Pierre Gaudilliere said the evacuations, prompted by an eruption of fighting, took place after securing the airbase north of Khartoum on Saturday, using France's airbase in neighbouring Djibouti for the airlift.

France has played a crucial role in paving the way for mass evacuations from an airbase outside Khartoum and coordinating initial departures for aid workers and others from dozens of countries.

“We were the first nation to land there," Gaudilliere told the Associated Press.

“You still had airstrikes as the operation was going on, crossfire in the streets, artillery round shots so it was and still is very intense fighting,” Gaudilliere described.




AP Video shot by Oleg Cetinic

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/1dcc72b2cd5741aa8b3901714714f965