The United States has denied that one of the warring factions in Sudan had assisted in the evacuation of the American embassy in its capital, Khartoum, on Saturday.
The U.S. military swiftly airlifted embassy officials out of Khartoum as fighting for control of the country continued between forces loyal to two rival Sudanese commanders.
About 100 U.S. troops in three MH-47 helicopters carried out the operation to airlift all of the roughly 70 remaining American employees from a landing zone at the embassy to an undisclosed location in Ethiopia, The Associated Press reported.
Washington has shuttered the U.S. mission in Khartoum indefinitely while thousands of American citizens remain in Sudan, according to the AP. U.S. officials said it was too dangerous to carry out a broader evacuation.
"Today, on my orders, the United States military conducted an operation to extract U.S. Government personnel from Khartoum," President Joe Biden said in a statement released late on Saturday.
He said he was receiving regular reports from his team on efforts to assist remaining Americans in Sudan "to the extent possible."
Gen. Michael Langley, the head of U.S. Africa Command, was in contact with both warring factions before and during the operation, U.S. officials said.
But John Bass, the undersecretary of state for management, rejected claims by one faction, the Rapid Security Forces, that it assisted with the U.S. evacuation.
"That was not the case," Bass said on a briefing call with reporters. "They cooperated to the extent that they did not fire on our service members in the course of the operation."
In his statement, Biden thanked Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Saudi Arabia, saying their assistance was "critical to the success" of the operation.
He also called for an end to the "unconscionable" violence in Sudan.
"This tragic violence in Sudan has already cost the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians. It's unconscionable and it must stop," the president said. "The belligerent parties must implement an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, allow unhindered humanitarian access, and respect the will of the people of Sudan."
Fighting in Sudan broke out on April 15 between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, whose leaders are vying for power in Sudan after joining forces to oust President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in a coup in 2019.
At least 400 people have been killed and more than 3,500 have been injured, according to the United Nations. Many civilians have been left stranded without food and water, and hospitals have run out of lifesaving supplies.
Meanwhile, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR estimates that between 10,000 and 20,000 people have fled Sudan's Darfur region to neighboring Chad. The majority of them were women and children, the agency said on Thursday.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Khaleda Rahman is Newsweek's Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on abortion rights, race, education, ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
