“I want to thank France especially for taking our people out,” he said.

“And I want to thank the combined efforts of many countries that took their nationals but also all nationals that they could pick.”

An EU official on Friday told AFP that there were an estimated 1,500 citizens from the bloc in Khartou

Across Khartoum, army and paramilitary troops have fought ferocious street battles since April 15, leaving behind charred tanks, gutted buildings and looted shops.

More than 420 people have been killed and thousands wounded, according to UN figures, amid fears of wider turmoil and a humanitarian disaster in one of the world’s poorest nations.