Sunday, April 23, 2023

US Evacuates Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan

 President Biden issued a statement on 22 April 2023 on the "Situation in Sudan" in which he announced the evacuation of U.S. government personnel from Khartoum by the U.S. military.  He thanked Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Saudi Arabia for their assistance and announced the United States is "temporarily suspending operations" at the embassy in Khartoum.  He called on the belligerent parties in Sudan to implement an immediate and unconditional ceasefire.

The Washington Post published on 23 April 2023 an article titled "Special Forces Swiftly Evacuate US Embassy Staff from Sudan" by Matthew Lee, Tara Copp, and Aamer Madhani.

About 100 U.S. troops in three MH-47 helicopters positioned in Djibouti airlifted about 70 American employees from a landing zone at the embassy compound in Khartoum to a location in Ethiopia, which also provided overflight and refueling support.  

The Washington Post published on 23 April 2023 an article titled "Embassies Rush to Evacuate in Sudan's Chaos, But Thousands of Foreigners Remain" by John Hudson and Katharine Houreld.

The article describes the efforts of other embassies in Khartoum to evacuate their nationals, noting that most foreign nationals remain in the country.  While the United States does not plan to conduct additional air evacuations of U.S. nationals, it is considering the use of surveillance and reconnaissance to provide information on potentially safe land routes out of Khartoum. 

The Washington Post published on 22 April 2023 an article titled "U.S. Evacuates Embassy Personnel and Families from Sudan, Biden Says" by Claire Parker, Katharine Houreld, Ellen Francis, John Hudson, and Shane Harris.

This article provides additional background on the evacuation of US embassy staff from Khartoum, adding that it is not safe to undertake a US government -coordinated evacuation of private citizens scattered throughout Khartoum.  

Comment:  The US embassy is located on a large compound in the Soba district on the east side of Khartoum near the Blue Nile River.  It is a safer location than many parts of Khartoum from which to conduct an evacuation of this kind.