Following this weekend’s dramatic evacuation of U.S. diplomats from the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, European nations and other countries raced Monday to extract their citizens amid an apparent lull in fighting the past two days between the army and a paramilitary force.
The eruption of violence between the Sudanese armed forces and the paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces has killed more than 420 people and wounded over 3,400 in nine days of fighting pitting two generals.
As of Monday, France rescued nearly 400 people on flights to the nation of Djibouti. Germany had three flights out of Sudan, bringing more than 300 people to Jordan, Reuters reported.
The Dutch air force flew out of Sudan to Jordan in the early hours Monday carrying people of various nationalities on board.
Italy, Spain, Jordan and Greece also flew out several hundred more people, a mix of their own citizens and people from other nations. Other nations, including Russia and Japan, were seeking to get citizens to safety as a growing number of evacuees poured into Sudan’s neighboring nations, including South Sudan.
Americans still in Sudan are urged to ‘shelter in place’
On Sunday. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner urged the thousands of Americans remaining in Sudan to “shelter in place” as the U.S. and international partners work on a “safe way to get them out.”
The White House said U.S. armed forces will remain in Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa, to protect U.S. personnel and others “until the security situation no longer requires their presence.”
The violence has halted normal operations at Sudan’s airports, destroying civilian planes and damaging runways.
Without aid or food, Sudanese ‘will suffer greatly’
As rescue operations waged by the United States and European nations brought diplomats and others to safety, the Sudanese braced for more intense fighting.
The fighting in the capital of Khartoum and other cities left Sudanese residents trapped in their homes by dangerous conditions. Explosions, gun battles and armed looters made it dangerous for residents to venture out for food or medicine.
Amani el-Taweel, an Egyptian expert on Africa, told the Associated Press that conditions are poised to worsen. Once diplomats and others are evacuated, the “warring parties will not heed any calls for a truce or a cease-fire,” she said.
The poor who can’t afford to make it out “will suffer greatly as they will have no access to aid or food.”
SEAL Team 6, Army special forces aided clandestine evacuation
U.S. officials have released few details on this weekend’s evacuation. Elements of SEAL Team 6 – which rose to fame for killing Osama Bin Laden 12 years ago – and the Army’s 3rd Special Forces Group took part in the evacuation, a security official told The Washington Post.
The Americans were airlifted out on three MH-47 Chinook helicopters that flew first from Djibouti and then refueled in Ethiopia, the Post reported.
CBS News National Security Correspondent David Martin says the aircraft “went in at night, low-level. … They were on the ground for a little more than half an hour. No shots were fired.”
Secretary Blinken says US had no choice but to flee Sudan Embassy
Suspending operations at the U.S. Embassy in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum was a difficult decision, but the safety of U.S. diplomats must come first, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement late Saturday.
Blinken said all U.S. personnel and their dependents had been evacuated from Khartoum because of the increasingly violent conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. The widespread fighting has caused civilian deaths and injuries and damage to essential infrastructure while posing “an unacceptable risk” to our embassy personnel, he said.
“We remind both belligerents of their obligations under international humanitarian law, including obligations related to the protection of civilians,” Blinken said. “The United States, in partnership with the region and international community, will continue to press efforts to bring an end to this fighting and a return to the process of transition to civilian government.”
Contributing: The Associated Press
