United States evacuating diplomats in Sudan amid fierce fighting

Smoke rises from buildings in Khartoum on Wednesday. Pic/AP

US troops are carrying out a precarious evacuation of American embassy staffers in the African nation of Sudan, shuttering the US embassy there as fighting rages for a ninth day, according to a senior Biden administration official. US troops that airlifted embassy staff out of Khartoum have safely left Sudanese airspace, a second US official confirmed.

Biden ordered American troops to evacuate embassy personnel after receiving a recommendation earlier Saturday from his national security team with no end in sight to the fighting, according to the official who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the mission.

The evacuation order was believed to apply to about 70 Americans. US forces were flying them from a landing zone at the embassy to an unspecified location. The State Department has suspended operations at the embassy due to the dire security situation. It was not clear when the embassy might resume functioning.

According to the World Health Organisation, fighting has killed more than 400 people since erupting April 15 between two factions whose leaders are vying for control over the country. The violence has included an unprovoked attack on an American diplomatic convoy and numerous incidents in which foreign diplomats and aid workers were killed, injured or assaulted.

Also read: Sudan army plans evacuation of diplomats amid violence

The White House has said it has no plans for a government-coordinated evacuation of American citizens trapped in Sudan. An estimated 16,000 private US citizens are registered with the embassy as being in Sudan. The State Department has cautioned that that figure probably is inaccurate because there is no requirement for Americans to register nor is there a requirement to notify the embassy when they leave.

The embassy issued an alert earlier Saturday cautioning that ¿due to the uncertain security situation in Khartoum and closure of the airport, it is not currently safe to undertake a US government-coordinated evacuation of private US citizens". The US evacuation planning got underway in earnest on Monday after the embassy convoy was attacked in Khartoum.

The Pentagon confirmed on Friday that US troops were being moved to Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti ahead of a possible evacuation. Saudi Arabia announced the successful repatriation of some of its citizens on Saturday, sharing footage of Saudi nationals and other foreigners welcomed with chocolate and flowers as they stepped off an apparent evacuation ship at the Saudi port of Jeddah.

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