China Boasts of Sudan Evacuations as U.S. Efforts Criticized

China has touted its efforts to evacuate its citizens, as well as those from other nations, from Sudan as the United States' own efforts to rescue Americans continue to face criticism.

Several nations, including the U.S., have scrambled to evacuate their citizens by air, land and sea from Sudan, where fighting between forces loyal to two rival Sudanese generals erupted on April 15, leaving hundreds dead. China's United Nations Ambassador Zhang Jun tweeted that more than 1,300 Chinese nationals in Sudan had been evacuated as of Friday.

"Some have left Sudan by Chinese warships and boats, and some are on their way out of the country," he wrote. "China has also helped nationals of 5 countries to leave Sudan by Chinese ships."

Among them were at least 216 Pakistani nationals who arrived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, aboard a Chinese Navy ship, according to Zhang Heqing, cultural counselor at the Chinese embassy in Pakistan.

"A friend in need is a friend indeed. Testimony of #China-#Pakistan iron-clad friendship again," he wrote in a tweet on Saturday alongside a video showing the Pakistani nationals disembarking the ship.

Wang Lutong, the Chinese Foreign Ministry's director general for European Affairs, noted that China had also aided European citizens: "This is done out of our vision of a global community with a shared future. We will continue to do what we can for those who need our help for #evacuation," he tweeted on Friday.

A day later, the United States conducted its first evacuation of its citizens from Sudan, after facing criticism when officials initially ruled it out and said it would be too dangerous.

The U.S. military evacuated diplomats and government personnel from the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, on April 22. But several thousand U.S. citizens, many of them dual nationals, were left behind.

On Saturday, a bus convoy carrying 200 to 300 Americans made the perilous 500-mile journey from Khartoum to Port Sudan under the watch of armed military drones in the first U.S.-run evacuation, the Associated Press reported.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said a second government-organized convoy arrived in Port Sudan on Sunday.

"We are assisting U.S. citizens and others who are eligible with onward travel to Jeddah, where additional personnel are ready to assist with consular & emergency services," Miller tweeted. "In a multinational effort, the USG, in concert with allies and partners, has facilitated the departure of nearly 1000 U.S. citizens from Sudan since the start of the violence."

Newsweek reached out to the State Department via email for further comment.

The U.S. embassy in Sudan on Monday advised remaining Americans to leave the country on commercial vessels if they can.

"We will inform U.S. citizens of any plans for additional U.S. government organized convoys from Khartoum to Port Sudan," the embassy said in a statement. "However, there may be space available on commercial vessels traveling from Port Sudan to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. For those who are able to depart Port Sudan via ferry, U.S. consular officers stand ready to provide consular assistance to U.S. citizens upon arrival in Jeddah."

The statement added: "We remain dedicated to assisting U.S. citizens remaining in Sudan."

There are no U.S. consular officials in Sudan, but they will be waiting for Americans once they reach Jeddah, the AP reported.

Some pro-China accounts, including those apparently run by journalists working for state-run Chinese media outlets, are comparing the efforts and criticizing the U.S. response.

Some tweets compared comments given by White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre during a briefing on April 18 to those of Mao Ning, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on April 25.

During that briefing three days after the fighting broke out, Jean-Pierre said that Americans "should have no expectations of a U.S. government-coordinated evacuation at the time" and that "it is imperative that U.S. citizens in Sudan make their own arrangements to stay safe."

Those comments were contrasted with Mao's answer to a question asking if China was planning to close its embassy given the U.S. and other nations had shuttered its embassy and evacuated diplomats.

"When evacuating from danger, our diplomats will always be the last to leave," she said.

Criticism of U.S. efforts is also circulating on Russian Telegram channels. Others have also described the U.S. response as weak, compared to that of other nations.

Jamil N. Jaffer, founder of George Mason University's National Security Institute and served as an associate counsel to President George W. Bush, tweeted on Sunday that thousands of Americans had been "abandoned."

"Every other major country has started a real evac. Why can't we?" Jaffer added in another tweet.

The families of Americans trapped in Sudan have also expressed anger at the U.S. response.

"I am incredibly shocked and disgusted by the American lackluster response to the health and safety of their citizens," Muna Daoud told CNN last week. Her parents were trying to get out of the country through Port Sudan.