The Pentagon has deployed forces and is developing options to aid in the possible evacuation of US embassy personnel from Sudan, but the White House said on Friday there was no preparation yet for a wider withdrawal of potentially thousands of other Americans from the African country. Not a plan. The warring factions are in violent conflict.
The purpose of troop movements by the US military is to “make sure that we provide as many options as possible if we are asked to do something,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at an event. We haven’t been called to do anything yet. News conference in Germany. Austin and US Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held meetings with defense leaders from other countries to discuss additional support for Ukraine.
An estimated 16,000 private US citizens are registered with the US Embassy in Khartoum as being in Sudan. The State Department has cautioned that this figure is probably inaccurate because there is no requirement for Americans to register or notify the embassy of their departure.
“It is absolutely essential that US citizens in Sudan make their own arrangements to stay safe in these difficult circumstances,” John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said in Washington.
He added that “Americans should have no expectation of a coordinated withdrawal by the US government at this time. And we expect that to remain the case.”
For embassy staff, a small number of US troops have begun arriving in the Horn of Africa country of Djibouti, where the US is pre-positioning forces and equipment to aid any possible evacuation, according to a US official. Is. The officer said that army personnel are being tapped for this work.
US troops being moved to Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti. Evacuation plans for Sudan were in full swing on Monday after an attack on a US embassy convoy in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum.
Clashes between Sudan’s military and a rival paramilitary force are worsening. The army has ruled out talks and said it would only accept surrenders as a temporary ceasefire expired, raising the prospect of a renewed escalation of the nearly week-long violence that has killed hundreds.
The US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the private deliberations, said Milley discussed the situation with defense officials from Germany, Italy and Canada. One theme was ensuring that there was no resistance to any possible evacuation attempt.
The US State Department said on Friday that an American citizen had died in Sudan, but did not have further details.
“We are in touch with the family and express our deepest condolences for their loss. Out of respect for the family during this difficult time, we have nothing further to add,” the department said in a statement.
The text of this story is published from a wire agency feed without any modification. Only the headline has been changed.
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