President Joe Biden has said that the US military has evacuated US diplomats and their families from Khartoum.
“Today, on my orders, the US military conducted an operation to evacuate US government officials from Khartoum,” he said in a statement.
Fewer than 100 people were evacuated early Sunday, a U.S. official said, when three Chinook helicopters landed near the U.S. embassy to pick them up.
Heavy violence broke out in Khartoum last week between two rival armies.
A power struggle between Sudan’s regular army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary force, has led to heavy bombings in the capital, killing hundreds and injuring thousands.
In a call with reporters after the mission, Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims said more than 100 U.S. Navy SEALs and Army Special Forces troops flew from Djibouti to Ethiopia and then Sudan and were on the ground for less than an hour.
It was a “quick and clean” operation, he said.
Mr Biden thanked Djibouti, Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia, saying they had been “critical to the success of our operation”, and he had warm praise for US embassy staff and the military.
The US Embassy in Khartoum is now closed.
A tweet on his official feed said the US government cannot provide consular services for its citizens in Sudan, nor is it safe enough for the government to deport private US citizens.
It was the second exodus of foreign nationals after violence erupted in Sudan’s capital last week.
On Saturday, more than 150 citizens, diplomats and international officials were transported by sea to the Saudi Arabian port of Jeddah. They were mostly citizens of Gulf countries as well as Egypt, Pakistan and Canada.
And on Sunday, the French Foreign Ministry announced that it was beginning to evacuate its citizens and diplomatic staff from the country. The ministry said it had launched a “rapid evacuation operation” and that European citizens and those arriving from “allied partner countries” would also be helped.
Biden called for a ceasefire.
The Reuters news agency has quoted American officials as saying that some diplomats from other countries were also evacuated in the American operation and that the American plane was not fired upon.
Khartoum airport has been under repeated shelling and shelling, making evacuation flights impossible.
Mr Biden’s statement said: “I have been receiving regular reports from my team on ongoing work to help Americans in Sudan as much as possible.”
He condemned the fighting, saying the rival armies “must implement an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, allow unhindered humanitarian access, and respect the will of the Sudanese people”.
Britain says it is considering ways to evacuate its staff. A hotline has been set up for people who need urgent help and UK nationals in Sudan are being urged to tell the Foreign Office where they are.
Any UK withdrawal is expected to be very limited and focussed on diplomatic staff – not comparable to a large-scale withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
Meanwhile, the Canadian government has told its citizens in Sudan to “shelter in a safe place”, keep their phones charged, keep doors and windows closed and “consider leaving the country if there is a safe way to do so”.
On April 15, heavy fighting broke out in Khartoum.
At its center is a power struggle between forces loyal to Sudanese army chief Abdul Fatt al-Barhan and the rival RSF.
Almost constant shelling and shelling in Khartoum and elsewhere has cut off electricity and safe access to food and water for much of the population.
Several ceasefires apparently agreed to by both sides have been ignored, including a three-day break to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which began on Friday.
The World Health Organization says that more than 400 people have been killed and thousands injured in the fighting. But the death toll is believed to be much higher as people struggle to reach hospitals.
UK citizens stranded and frustrated
British Prime Minister Rishi Singh chaired an emergency government Cobra meeting to review the Sudan crisis on Saturday and further talks are expected on Sunday.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly is returning to London after cutting his Pacific tour short.
Some UK nationals stranded in Sudan have expressed frustration and concern over the lack of an airlift.
Iman Abu Garga, a Briton visiting Khartoum, said she registered herself and her two children as instructed, “and since then – nothing”.
“We have no idea of the timescale or the time frame. We have no idea what it will look like. Will we be airlifted from Khartoum airport? Will we have to go by road? It’s absolutely Disappointing that there is none. Human contact whatsoever,” he complained.
Another British national in Khartoum told JEE News she felt “totally abandoned” by the British government, saying she had been “not given much information” about possible evacuation plans. were not given.
