Sudan Conflict: Biden Confirms US Diplomats Evacuation, Urges Ceasefire

The US military has evacuated American diplomats and their families from Khartoum, President Joe Biden has said.

“Today, on my orders, the United States military conducted an operation to extract US government personnel from Khartoum,” he said in a statement.

Earlier Sudan’s paramilitary army Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said six aircraft were used in Sunday’s early morning mission, and that it had co-ordinated the evacuation with the US, reports the BBC.

Several details are still unclear.

Exactly how many people were airlifted out of Sudan has not been confirmed. However before Saturday’s operation, CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, reported a plan to evacuate about 70 government workers.

Biden confirmed the embassy in Khartoum is now closed: “We are temporarily suspending operations at the US embassy in Sudan.”

He also thanked Djibouti, Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia, saying they had been “critical to the success of our operation”.

The president praised the embassy staff’s “courage and professionalism” and “the unmatched skill of our service members who successfully brought them to safety”.

It is the second evacuation of foreign citizens since violence erupted in Sudan’s capital last week.

On Saturday, more than 150 citizens, diplomats and international officials were evacuated by sea to the Saudi Arabian port of Jeddah. They were mostly citizens of Gulf countries, as well as Egypt, Pakistan and Canada.

Biden urges ceasefire

Arabic news service Al Hadath reported that the six US aircraft landed in the embassy compound, and several Twitter users posted that they could hear helicopter activity over the US embassy, however, the BBC has been unable to verify this.

Khartoum airport has been repeatedly targeted by shelling and gunfire, making evacuation flights from there impossible.

An unnamed US official told the Associated Press that President Biden had ordered the evacuation on Saturday after receiving a recommendation from his national security team, who saw no end to the fighting.

Biden’s statement said “I am receiving regular reports from my team on their ongoing work to assist Americans in Sudan, to the extent possible.”

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

He condemned the “tragic violence” in Sudan, saying “it’s unconscionable and it must stop”.

“The belligerent parties must implement an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, allow unhindered humanitarian access, and respect the will of the people of Sudan.”