US embassy staff and families evacuate from Sudan
US embassy staff and families evacuate from Sudan. President Biden acknowledges that US embassy personnel and their families have left Sudan
The evacuation is today Sunday, according to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces of Sudan.
President Joe Biden said that US forces have evacuated US embassy personnel and their families from Sudan’s war-torn capital Khartoum as conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) entered its second week with hundreds of casualties and thousands of injuries.
In a statement, Biden stated, “On my command, the US military undertook an operation to rescue US Government employees from Khartoum.
The US military mission, which included six aircraft, had evacuated the US diplomats and their families from the country, the RSF had said hours earlier on Sunday.
“The Rapid Support Forces Command has coordinated with the US Forces Mission consisting of 6 aircraft, for evacuating diplomats and their families on Sunday morning,” the RSF stated in a tweet.
As battle rages in Sudan, foreign nations start ordering evacuations
Along with promising “full cooperation with all diplomatic missions, providing all necessary means of protection, and ensuring their safe return to their countries,” the RSF made another commitment.
In his remarks, Biden thanked the US forces for their “unmatched skill” in the mission and mentioned that Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Saudi Arabia had assisted with the evacuation.
According to two US sources familiar with the mission, the staff of the US embassy was evacuated to an undisclosed location in Ethiopia and about 70 Americans were reportedly affected by the evacuation order.
The US embassy in Khartoum has been shuttered indefinitely as a result of the departure of the employees, and the White House has stated that there are no preparations for a government-organized evacuation of the approximately 16,000 private US citizens who are listed as being in Sudan by the embassy.
According to a tweet from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the US will “continue to assist Americans in planning for their own safety” in Sudan and push for a ceasefire to “prevent further damage to the Sudanese nation.”
In the first officially reported civilian evacuation from Sudan, more than 150 people from a number of different countries arrived in safety in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
Saturday saw the “safe arrival” of 91 Saudi citizens as well as those from Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Tunisia, Pakistan, India, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Canada, and Burkina Faso, according to the foreign ministry of Saudi Arabia.
The civilians, including diplomats and foreign officials, were carried from Port Sudan to Jeddah by Saudi naval forces across the Red Sea.
Even though Sudan’s primary airport is still shut down, foreign countries have said that they are ready for the likely evacuation of thousands more of their citizens. While people struggle to survive due to a lack of food and electricity, the continued conflict has left hundreds of people dead and thousands injured.
Since hostilities started on April 15 and were initially agreed upon virtually daily, the army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the rival RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, a.k.a. Hemedti, have so far failed to uphold the ceasefires.
“I don’t think we can survive this,”
According to Matthew Majok, a student in Khartoum, the situation was grave, especially given the scarcity of food and errant gunfire.
“For our protection, we wish to leave this nation. According to reports, things will get worse in the upcoming days. We want to leave, and I don’t think we’ll make it through this one,” he remarked.
Fighting on Saturday violated a three-day truce that was supposed to start on Friday so that people could travel to safety and visit family for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr. Both sides charged each other with violating the cease-fire.
Hemedti stated to Al Arabiya TV late on Saturday, “I don’t have a problem with the ceasefire. “[The troops] showed no respect for it. We will respect it if they do. Of course, the medical professionals who have been working here since last Saturday are exhausted.
The Sudanese army has stated that airports in Khartoum and Nyala, the largest city in Darfur, are troublesome, and it is unclear when that could be possible. Western nations are likely to send planes for their residents from Djibouti.
Some diplomatic employees in Khartoum, according to a foreign diplomat who asked to remain unnamed, were hoping for an airlift out of Port Sudan within the next two days.
Compiled by
World Travel News, Gorilla Trekking Uganda and Gorilla Trekking Rwanda
