khartoum, Sudan: US military evacuates US embassy staff from President Khartoum Joe Biden said on sunday, as the fight between Sudanese army And a paramilitary group entered a second week after a brief lull.
Fighting in Sudan has left hundreds dead and thousands injured, while survivors struggle with power and food shortages.
“Today, at my order, the United States military conducted an operation to evacuate US government personnel from Khartoum,” Biden said in a statement released late Saturday night Washington time.
He expressed gratitude for “the unmatched skill of our service members who successfully brought them to safety”, adding that Djibouti, Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia had helped with the operation.
Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the heavily armed paramilitary group currently challenging the regular army’s authority in the capital and elsewhere, tweeted a few hours ago that it had sent “US forces with 6 planes to evacuate diplomats”. mission and their Sunday morning families”.
Foreign countries have said they are preparing for the possible evacuation of thousands of their citizens, even as Sudan’s main airport remains closed.
More than 150 people from various countries reached the safety of Saudi Arabia a day earlier in the first announced evacuation of citizens.
Fighting broke out again in Khartoum after a temporary ceasefire on Friday, the first day of Eid al-Fitr, as kingdom naval forces evacuated civilians, including diplomats and international officials, across the Red Sea from Port Sudan to Jeddah. Bullets went on for some time.
Eid is usually a major celebration for Sudanese at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
This year is marked by fear, mourning and hunger.
Earlier on Saturday, Sudan’s military said its chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan had received calls from leaders of several countries to “facilitate and guarantee security for the evacuation of civilians and diplomatic missions”.
It said the evacuation was expected to begin “in the coming hours”, adding that the US, Britain, France and China were planning to evacuate their citizens out of Khartoum using military aircraft.
Burhan told Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV that the army was in control “except for Khartoum airport” and an air base in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur.
Urban fighting began on 15 April between forces loyal to Burhan and those of his deputy, Mohammad Hamdan Daglo.
Daglo takes command of the RSF, which emerged from Janjaweed militias unleashed in Darfur by former leader Omar al-Bashir, who faces charges of war crimes.
Heavy gunfire, loud explosions and the sound of fighter jets were heard in several parts of the capital on Saturday, despite a three-day ceasefire announced by the army a day earlier, according to witnesses.
Two 24-hour ceasefires announced earlier in the week were also ignored.
In its Sunday statement, RSF said that “we renew our commitment to a ceasefire during the declared ceasefire to open humanitarian corridors and ensure the safety and well-being of civilians”.
Dagalo said in a statement that he “discussed the current crisis” with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and “focused on a humanitarian ceasefire, safe passage and the safety of humanitarian workers”.
Five humanitarians have been killed so far, including four from UN agencies.
In Khartoum, a city of half a million people, fearful citizens are sheltering in their homes because of the conflict. Many have only ventured out to get essential food supplies – whose stocks are running low – or to flee the city.
While the capital has seen some of the fiercest battles, they have taken place all over the country.
Fighting has intensified in Darfur, where Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in the city of El Fasher said its doctors were “overwhelmed” by the number of patients with gunshot wounds, many of whom were children.
More plans are being made to evacuate foreigners, South Korea and Japan have deployed troops to nearby countries, and the European Union is taking similar steps.
German defense and foreign affairs ministers held a crisis meeting on Saturday on a possible evacuation after three military transport planes were turned back on Wednesday, according to German weekly Der Spiegel.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said more than 420 people were killed and more than 3,700 wounded in the fighting across Sudan, but the actual death toll is believed to be higher.
The doctors’ union said more than two-thirds of hospitals in Khartoum and neighboring states were now “out of service”, and at least four hospitals in northern Kordofan state were bombed.
The World Food Program said the violence could push millions more into starvation in a country where a third of the population is in need of aid.
Burhan and Daglo’s dispute centered on the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army, a key condition aimed at restoring Sudan’s democratic transition after Bashir was toppled by the military in April 2019 following mass civilian protests.
In October 2021, Burhan and Dagalo joined forces to oust a civilian government installed after the fall of Bashir.
Daglo now says the coup was a “mistake”, while Burhan believes it was “necessary” to involve more groups in politics.
Fighting in Sudan has left hundreds dead and thousands injured, while survivors struggle with power and food shortages.
“Today, at my order, the United States military conducted an operation to evacuate US government personnel from Khartoum,” Biden said in a statement released late Saturday night Washington time.
He expressed gratitude for “the unmatched skill of our service members who successfully brought them to safety”, adding that Djibouti, Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia had helped with the operation.
Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the heavily armed paramilitary group currently challenging the regular army’s authority in the capital and elsewhere, tweeted a few hours ago that it had sent “US forces with 6 planes to evacuate diplomats”. mission and their Sunday morning families”.
Foreign countries have said they are preparing for the possible evacuation of thousands of their citizens, even as Sudan’s main airport remains closed.
More than 150 people from various countries reached the safety of Saudi Arabia a day earlier in the first announced evacuation of citizens.
Fighting broke out again in Khartoum after a temporary ceasefire on Friday, the first day of Eid al-Fitr, as kingdom naval forces evacuated civilians, including diplomats and international officials, across the Red Sea from Port Sudan to Jeddah. Bullets went on for some time.
Eid is usually a major celebration for Sudanese at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
This year is marked by fear, mourning and hunger.
Earlier on Saturday, Sudan’s military said its chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan had received calls from leaders of several countries to “facilitate and guarantee security for the evacuation of civilians and diplomatic missions”.
It said the evacuation was expected to begin “in the coming hours”, adding that the US, Britain, France and China were planning to evacuate their citizens out of Khartoum using military aircraft.
Burhan told Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV that the army was in control “except for Khartoum airport” and an air base in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur.
Urban fighting began on 15 April between forces loyal to Burhan and those of his deputy, Mohammad Hamdan Daglo.
Daglo takes command of the RSF, which emerged from Janjaweed militias unleashed in Darfur by former leader Omar al-Bashir, who faces charges of war crimes.
Heavy gunfire, loud explosions and the sound of fighter jets were heard in several parts of the capital on Saturday, despite a three-day ceasefire announced by the army a day earlier, according to witnesses.
Two 24-hour ceasefires announced earlier in the week were also ignored.
In its Sunday statement, RSF said that “we renew our commitment to a ceasefire during the declared ceasefire to open humanitarian corridors and ensure the safety and well-being of civilians”.
Dagalo said in a statement that he “discussed the current crisis” with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and “focused on a humanitarian ceasefire, safe passage and the safety of humanitarian workers”.
Five humanitarians have been killed so far, including four from UN agencies.
In Khartoum, a city of half a million people, fearful citizens are sheltering in their homes because of the conflict. Many have only ventured out to get essential food supplies – whose stocks are running low – or to flee the city.
While the capital has seen some of the fiercest battles, they have taken place all over the country.
Fighting has intensified in Darfur, where Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in the city of El Fasher said its doctors were “overwhelmed” by the number of patients with gunshot wounds, many of whom were children.
More plans are being made to evacuate foreigners, South Korea and Japan have deployed troops to nearby countries, and the European Union is taking similar steps.
German defense and foreign affairs ministers held a crisis meeting on Saturday on a possible evacuation after three military transport planes were turned back on Wednesday, according to German weekly Der Spiegel.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said more than 420 people were killed and more than 3,700 wounded in the fighting across Sudan, but the actual death toll is believed to be higher.
The doctors’ union said more than two-thirds of hospitals in Khartoum and neighboring states were now “out of service”, and at least four hospitals in northern Kordofan state were bombed.
The World Food Program said the violence could push millions more into starvation in a country where a third of the population is in need of aid.
Burhan and Daglo’s dispute centered on the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army, a key condition aimed at restoring Sudan’s democratic transition after Bashir was toppled by the military in April 2019 following mass civilian protests.
In October 2021, Burhan and Dagalo joined forces to oust a civilian government installed after the fall of Bashir.
Daglo now says the coup was a “mistake”, while Burhan believes it was “necessary” to involve more groups in politics.