Smoke rises over the city during ongoing fighting between the Sudanese army and paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum, Sudan, on Wednesday. Photo by Stringer/EPA-EFE
April 23 (UPI) — President Joe Biden late Saturday ordered the U.S. military to extract American diplomats from Sudan as the two warring parties in the country accused each other of hindering efforts to evacuate foreign nationals.
“Today, on my orders, the United States military conducted an operation to extract U.S. Government personnel from Khartoum,” Biden said in a statement.
“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 that the evacuation of the U.S. Embassy was a success because of “critical” support from the nations of Djibouti, Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia.
“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,” Biden said.
“This tragic violence in Sudan has already cost the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians. It’s unconscionable and it must stop.”
Biden added that the evacuation came as the United States “temporarily” suspended operations at the U.S. Embassy.
Among those evacuated by U.S. special forces from Khartoum were six Canadian diplomats, according to a Western official who spoke to The New York Times.
France announced that it was coordinating a rapid evacuation of its diplomatic staff while British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also announced that the country’s armed forces had completed a “complex and rapid evacuation” of British personnel from its Embassy.
“We are continuing to pursue every avenue to end the bloodshed in Sudan and ensure the safety of British nationals remaining in the country,” Sunak said.
“I urge the parties to lay down their arms and implement an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to ensure civilians can leave conflict zones.”
Officials in Egypt, which borders Sudan to the north, said in a statement Sunday that the Egyptian Foreign Ministry has also started evacuating Egyptian nationals from Sudan.