The U.S. State Department confirmed that it’s launching the first mass evacuation of its citizens from Sudan amid fighting between rival factions that started earlier this month.
A U.S. government-backed convoy carrying U.S. citizens arrived at Port Sudan on April 29, the State Department said in a statement over the weekend. Port Sudan, which sits near the Red Sea, is located hundreds of miles away from Khartoum, Sudan’s capital.
“The U.S. government has taken extensive efforts to contact U.S. citizens in Sudan and enable the departure of those who wished to leave,” the statement reads. “We messaged every U.S. citizen in Sudan who communicated with us during the crisis and provided specific instructions about joining this convoy to those who were interested in departing via the land route.
“We encourage U.S. citizens who want to leave Sudan but chose not to participate in this convoy to contact the Department of State using the crisis intake form on our website.”
The evacuation was triggered after “intensive negotiations by the United States with the support of our regional and international partners,” the State Department said, noting that Americans shouldn’t travel to the war-torn country.
“The Secretary of Defense approved a request for assistance from the Department of State to support the safe departure of U.S. citizens and their immediate family members via overland,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said in a statement. “The Department of Defense deployed U.S. intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets to support air and land evacuation routes, which Americans are using, and we are moving naval assets within the region to provide any necessary support along the coast.
“Our focus has been and remains to help as many U.S. citizens depart as safely as possible.”
Families of trapped U.S. citizens have been critical so far of the White House’s response for initially ruling out an evacuation, The Associated Press reported. When the conflict broke out earlier this month, U.S. officials warned that citizens would need to find their own way out of the country.
