Sudan Fighting: Special Forces Airlift US Diplomats From Sudan
According to President Joe Biden, American diplomats and their families have been evacuated from Khartoum by the US military.
A US official described the procedure as “fast and clean.”
According to reports, less than 100 individuals were evacuated early on Sunday when three Chinook helicopters landed close to the US embassy to pick them up.
French officials indicated they were also evacuating their citizens as well as those of other EU and allies.
However, the evacuation convoy was fired upon after leaving the French embassy, according to claims made by both Sudan’s regular army and its adversaries, a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). They held each other accountable for the assault.
According to reports, one French national was hurt, but French authorities have not yet offered any comments.
As part of a global effort to evacuate its residents from Sudan, the Netherlands has now joined. The country is collaborating with a Jordanian team to “get Dutch people out of there as quickly and safely as possible,” the Dutch foreign minister tweeted.
Earlier this month, fierce fighting broke out in Khartoum between two opposing armies.
The capital city has been heavily bombarded during the power struggle between the RSF and Sudan’s regular army, resulting in hundreds of fatalities and tens of thousands of injuries.
In a statement, Vice President Biden said, “Today, on my orders, the United States military conducted an operation to extract US government personnel from Khartoum.”
More than 100 US soldiers from the Navy Seals and Army Special Forces flew from Djibouti to Ethiopia and then into Sudan, Lt Gen Douglas Sims said in a call with media following the mission. They were on the ground for less than an hour.
Even while there is no indication of a formal ceasefire, it seems the RSF paramilitary organization has agreed not to fire on the American helicopters while they are on operation.
Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Saudi Arabia were acknowledged by Mr. Biden and complimented for being “critical to the success of our operation.” He also expressed gratitude to the US embassy workers.
According to a tweet on its official account, the US embassy in Khartoum is currently closed since the administration is unable to evacuate individual US citizens due to security concerns.
Since violence broke out in the capital of Sudan last week, there have been two evacuations of foreign nationals.
More than 150 residents, diplomats, and representatives from other countries were transported by boat to the Saudi Arabian port of Jeddah on Saturday. Most of them were citizens of the Gulf states, along with Egypt, Pakistan, and Canada.
Mr. Biden denounced the fighting in a statement and urged the opposing militaries to implement an immediate ceasefire and permit humanitarian access.
