President Joe Biden said late Saturday that the U.S. military had completed the evacuation of U.S. embassy personnel in Sudan, and called for end to “unconscionable” violence there as two rival leaders battled for power in the African country.
Biden thanked the U.S. troops who carried out the mission to extract American staffers in Sudan. With the evacuation, Washington shuttered the U.S. mission in Khartoum indefinitely.
The staffers were airlifted to an undisclosed location in Ethiopia, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the mission. U.S. troops carried out the operation as fighting between two armed Sudanese commanders —which has killed more than 400, put the nation at risk of collapse and could have consequences far beyond its borders—moved into a second week.
“I am proud of the extraordinary commitment of our Embassy staff, who performed their duties with courage and professionalism and embodied America's friendship and connection with the people of Sudan,” Biden said in a statement. “I am grateful for the unmatched skill of our service members who successfully brought them to safety.” Biden also thanked Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Saudi Arabia for their help with the mission.
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.
“This tragic violence in Sudan has already cost the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians. It's unconscionable and it must stop,” Biden said. “The belligerent parties must implement an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, allow unhindered humanitarian access, and respect the will of the people of Sudan.” The evacuation order was believed to apply to about 70 Americans. U.S. 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.
"The widespread fighting has caused significant numbers of civilian deaths and injuries and damage to essential infrastructure and posed an unacceptable risk to our Embassy personnel," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
The fighting erupted 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.
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 U.S. citizens are registered with the embassy as being in Sudan.
Biden said he was receiving regular reports from his team on efforts to assist those remaining Americans in Sudan “to the extent possible.” 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 U.S. government-coordinated evacuation of private U.S. citizens.” Fighting in Sudan between forces loyal to two top generals has put that nation at risk of collapse and could have consequences far beyond its borders.