The United States evacuates its personnel from Sudan and closes the embassy in the face of violent fighting in the country

The United States government has begun to evacuate its government personnel from Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, and has

suspended the operations of the US embassy, ​​in the face of violent fighting in the country that has claimed the lives of hundreds of people.

The Sudanese Army and paramilitary forces have been fighting for control of the country for a week with deadly clashes and explosions in densely populated neighborhoods of Khartoum, generating internal chaos and structural damage.

"We have never seen battles like this," neighbors have said.

"This tragic violence in Sudan

is inconceivable and must stop," said President Joe Biden, announcing that the embassy would be evacuated.

As of early Sunday morning, only one U.S. citizen had been confirmed dead.

because of the fighting, the White House said.

Three Boeing CH-47 Chinook cargo transport helicopters made the first trip to evacuate US personnel on Saturday, carrying a group of

, Press Department officials said at a news conference.

The White House has indicated that it is not currently planning a government-coordinated evacuation of US citizens, since security and logistical conditions are not in place.

There are at least 16,000 registered citizens at the embassy, ​​but the actual number of residents could be higher.

Smoke billows into the sky over Khartoum, Sudan, near the Doha International Hospital, Friday, April 21, 2023. AP/AP

“We temporarily suspend the operations of the United States embassy in Sudan, but our commitment to the Sudanese and to the future they want is endless,” Biden added in that note, where he said he was “proud” of the work carried out by US personnel. at the diplomatic legation.

Biden stressed that efforts are being made to help the Americans in Sudan "to the extent possible."

“We are also working closely with our allies and partners in this effort,” she said.

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Since the outbreak of the conflict, according to the count offered this Friday by the World Health Organization (WHO), at least

and 3,551 have been injured in Sudan.

A ceasefire was declared on Friday, and both the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group and the army have pledged to support the evacuations, but the situation on the ground is uncertain.

Most of the major airports have been turned into battlegrounds and leaving the capital has proven extremely dangerous, with residents trapped in their homes and food running short.

The two rivals have entrenched themselves, indicating that they would resume fighting after the truce.

temporary suspension

The US authorities have stressed that it is a "temporary" suspension of activities at the embassy in Khartoum, and that diplomats are transferred abroad until they can return safely.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said it was a difficult decision, but the safety of US personnel was his "primary responsibility."

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"The widespread fighting has caused a significant number of deaths and injuries among the civilian population, as well as damage to essential infrastructure, and has posed an unacceptable risk to our embassy staff," he explained.   

The violence has included an unprovoked attack on a US diplomatic motorcade and several incidents in which foreign diplomats and aid personnel have been killed, injured or assaulted.

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The same United States embassy in Khartoum had reported on Saturday that due to the insecurity situation and the closure of the international airport, it was not safe to carry out an evacuation, despite the fact that the Sudanese Army had said shortly before that the North American country was going to proceed. to repatriation in a matter of “hours”.

They deny paramilitary support

The first evacuation trip was made on Saturday with three Boeing CH-47 Chinook cargo transport helicopters that arrived in Khartoum after a stopover in Ethiopia.

“The operation was quick and clean, with service members spending less than an hour on the ground in Khartoum,” Chris Maier, assistant secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict, said at a news conference.

Just over 100 troops in total were involved in the mission, along with all special operations personnel.

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The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group, which has been fighting the Sudanese military, said the US rescue mission involved six aircraft and that it had been involved in coordinating the effort.

But the United States denied that the group did anything to assist in the evacuation.

“You may have seen some claims on social media in the last few hours that the Rapid Security Forces somehow coordinated with us and supported this operation.

That was not the case,” said Assistant Secretary of State for Administration John Bass.

“

at our service members in the course of the operation,” he said Saturday.

Biden had indicated earlier in a statement released by the White House that Ethiopia, Djibouti and Saudi Arabia were "decisive" for this exit to be successful.

Citizens, not for now

The Under Secretary of State for Administration indicated that since there is an uncertain outlook regarding security conditions in Sudan, since the airport is disabled, the United States does not plan to evacuate citizens "at this time or in the next few days

"

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"However, while we do not anticipate coordinating that evacuation, we certainly continue to be in close contact with the many American citizens residing in Khartoum and other parts of Sudan to provide our best assessment of the security environment and to encourage them to take appropriate precautions, to the best of their ability. they can in and around that environment," he said.

About 16,000 citizens are in the country, according to embassy records.

The State Department has cautioned that the figure is likely inaccurate because there is no requirement for Americans to register or notify the embassy when they leave the country.

The decision to evacuate

The fighting broke out on April 15 between the Army and the Rapid Support Forces (FAR), a paramilitary group, after weeks of tension, and represents a new blow to the hopes that a transition to democracy will begin.

Both forces were the architects of the joint coup that overthrew the transitional government of Sudan in October 2021.

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Planning for the evacuation began on Monday, after the diplomatic convoy in Khartoum was attacked.

The Pentagon announced on Thursday that it was closely monitoring the situation in Sudan and had deployed troops to the region in case it was necessary to evacuate its personnel from the country.

The RSF, led by General Mohammed Hamad Dagolo, said it is cooperating with all diplomatic missions and is committed to a three-day ceasefire that was declared at sunset Friday.

Earlier, army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan said he would facilitate the evacuation of American, British, Chinese and French citizens and diplomats from Sudan after speaking with the leaders of several countries that had requested help.

The embassy issued an alert hours earlier on Saturday warning that "due to the uncertain security situation in Khartoum and the closure of the airport, it is not safe at this time to conduct a government-coordinated evacuation of US citizens."

French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anne-Claire Legendre said on Sunday that France was organizing the evacuation of its embassy staff, French citizens in Sudan and citizens of allied countries.

She said France was organizing the operation "in connection with all parties involved, as well as our European partners and allies."

With information from

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