The US and Farnat have evacuated their embassies in Sudan. Blinken: "We ordered this temporary measure because of security risks"
US President Joe Biden said the US military has conducted an operation to extract US government personnel from Khartoum, Sudan, adding that Washington has temporarily suspended operations at its embassy as fighting continues in Sudan, Reuters and Agerpres report.
"The State Department has temporarily suspended operations at our Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, and has safely evacuated all U.S. personnel and dependents on our security responsibility. Suspending operations at one of our embassies is always a difficult decision, but the safety of personnel is my first responsibility. I ordered this temporary measure because of the serious and growing security risks created by the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. The extensive fighting has caused a significant number of civilian deaths, injuries and damage to vital infrastructure and poses an unacceptable risk to our Embassy staff," Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said in a press release, quoted by News.ro.
All U.S. government personnel have been evacuated from Washington's embassy in Khartoum, as well as a small number of diplomatic staff from other countries, U.S. officials said Saturday, as fighting rages in Sudan.
In a statement, Joe Biden said he receives regular reports from his team on its ongoing work to help Americans in Sudan as much as possible and is working with allies and partners on the effort.
France also announced that it has launched a "rapid evacuation operation" for its citizens and diplomatic staff in Sudan. The French Foreign Ministry said European citizens and those from "allied partner countries" are also being taken under protection, according to Hotnews.ro.
The bloody attacks in the urban war have left many people stranded in Sudan's capital, rendering the airport inoperable and several roads impassable.
The United Nations and some states have called on rival military commanders to respect declared ceasefires, which have largely been ignored, and to open safe routes for fleeing civilians and provide much-needed aid.
