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| U.S. Military Evacuates Embassy Personnel in Embattled Sudan | U.S. Military Evacuates Embassy Personnel in Embattled Sudan |
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| The United States military airlifted embassy officials out of Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, amid continuing violence as rival military leaders battled for control of Africa’s third-largest country, President Biden said late on Saturday. | The United States military airlifted embassy officials out of Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, amid continuing violence as rival military leaders battled for control of Africa’s third-largest country, President Biden said late on Saturday. |
| “Today, on my orders, the United States military conducted an operation to extract U.S. government personnel from Khartoum,” Mr. Biden said in a statement released by the White House. | “Today, on my orders, the United States military conducted an operation to extract U.S. government personnel from Khartoum,” Mr. Biden said in a statement released by the White House. |
| In a briefing for reporters, officials said that just over 100 special operations troops were involved in evacuating under 100 people — mostly U.S. Embassy employees — using helicopters that flew in from the nation of Djibouti, about 800 miles away. | |
| “The operation was fast and clean, with service members spending less than an hour on the ground in Khartoum,” said Lt. Gen. Douglas A. Sims II, the director for operations at the Joint Staff. “As we speak, the evacuees are safe and secure.” | |
| The move came on the eighth day of brutal fighting in the capital and other parts of the country between the army and a paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces, whose leaders are vying for supremacy in Sudan. | The move came on the eighth day of brutal fighting in the capital and other parts of the country between the army and a paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces, whose leaders are vying for supremacy in Sudan. |
| At least 400 people have been killed in the ensuing clashes and 3,500 injured, according to the United Nations. They include at least 256 civilians who died and 1,454 who were wounded, according to a doctors union. | At least 400 people have been killed in the ensuing clashes and 3,500 injured, according to the United Nations. They include at least 256 civilians who died and 1,454 who were wounded, according to a doctors union. |
| The fighting has left many people stranded at home without electricity, food or water, and doctors and hospitals say they are struggling to cope. | The fighting has left many people stranded at home without electricity, food or water, and doctors and hospitals say they are struggling to cope. |
| As the situation deteriorated, Antony J. Blinken, the secretary of state, and Molly Phee, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs, had been in close contact with the U.S. ambassador to Sudan, John T. Godfrey, officials said. (Mr. Godfrey — the first U.S. ambassador to Sudan in a quarter-century — arrived in the country about eight months ago.) | |
| The first step, said John Bass, the under secretary of state for management, was to get various embassy personnel who were “pinned down in apartments scattered around the city” consolidated in a small number of safer places. | |
| As officials were working on that, he said, they began to assess that as the conflict continued, they could not reliably predict and depend on there being food, fuel, power and other critical supplies to keep the embassy operating safely. | |
| “It was only at that point that we reluctantly concluded that the only really feasible option for us in this case was to temporarily suspend operations, move those operations — our diplomacy — offshore, and continue to work from there,” Mr. Bass said. “But always with the intention of finding a path back to having our flag up and our presence in Khartoum as quickly as we could.” | |
| The Pentagon had positioned more troops in recent days in Djibouti, where the U.S. military has a base, to prepare for a rescue. | |
| But with the airport in the capital badly damaged by shelling and the land corridor to Port Sudan — more than 500 miles away — seen as too risky, a limited evacuation by airlift was seen as the best option, officials said. | |
| While the briefing for reporters was vaguer, two U.S. officials familiar with the operation, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the military airlifted about 70 U.S. Embassy employees using both helicopters and V-22 Ospreys — a plane that can take off and land vertically — from a site near the embassy after sundown. The Navy’s SEAL Team 6 special force was involved, one of those officials also said. | |
| The airlift additionally included a small number of diplomatic professionals from other countries, Mr. Bass said. They had lived in the same apartment buildings as some American diplomatic staff and arrived together at the embassy, he said. | |
| “Essentially, they were working together to get themselves from where they were in harm’s way to the embassy, in some cases with a fair amount of creativity and ingenuity,” he said, and once they were at the embassy “we felt the prudent thing to do was to bring them out with us.” | |
| In his statement, Mr. Biden thanked Djibouti, Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia, saying they were critical to the success of the operation. | |
| “I am proud of the extraordinary commitment of our embassy staff, who performed their duties with courage and professionalism and embodied America’s friendship and connection with the people of Sudan,” Mr. Biden said. “I am grateful for the unmatched skill of our service members who successfully brought them to safety.” | |
| In part because the airport is not operational, the government does not plan to carry out a large-scale operation to evacuate American citizens who live in Sudan and may want to leave, officials said. But Chris Maier, the assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict, said the government would be working to try to help them. | |
| While officials are not advising or recommending that people try to drive to Port Sudan, if some choose to undertake that journey, Mr. Maier said the government was thinking about how to “make the overland route out of Sudan potentially more viable.” | |
| That could include using reconnaissance to detect threats to convoys driving toward Port Sudan, and to deploy naval assets outside the port to help those who arrive there. | |
| There are believed to be about 16,000 Americans in Sudan. But one U.S. official said that the government thinks only a small number — about 60 — of American citizens who are not government officials intend to leave. | |
| In a statement addressing his decision to suspend operations at the embassy and calling on both sides to extend a cease-fire, Mr. Blinken also said the government “will continue to assist Americans in Sudan in planning for their own safety and provide regular updates to U.S. citizens in the area.” | |
| The announcement of the evacuation capped a day of confusion, after Sudan’s military chief vowed to help relocate nationals of several countries including the United States, but the embassy said at the time that it was too dangerous. | |
| Countless residents of Khartoum have fled the city, where bodies line the streets, to find refuge in safer suburbs and states. More than 15,000 people from the western region of Darfur have fled into neighboring Chad, and humanitarian organizations have reported being unable to work amid the incessant fighting. | Countless residents of Khartoum have fled the city, where bodies line the streets, to find refuge in safer suburbs and states. More than 15,000 people from the western region of Darfur have fled into neighboring Chad, and humanitarian organizations have reported being unable to work amid the incessant fighting. |
| Aid workers and diplomats, who were often able to stay out of the fray in the past, have this time found themselves targets. The World Food Program said that three of its workers were killed. An American convoy was attacked this past week, and the European Union ambassador to Sudan was assaulted in his home. | Aid workers and diplomats, who were often able to stay out of the fray in the past, have this time found themselves targets. The World Food Program said that three of its workers were killed. An American convoy was attacked this past week, and the European Union ambassador to Sudan was assaulted in his home. |
| The army chief, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is Sudan’s de facto leader, said in a statement on Saturday morning that his troops would facilitate the evacuation of diplomats and citizens from Britain, China, France and the United States “in the coming hours.” | The army chief, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is Sudan’s de facto leader, said in a statement on Saturday morning that his troops would facilitate the evacuation of diplomats and citizens from Britain, China, France and the United States “in the coming hours.” |
| Soon after, however, the American Embassy said in a security alert that “due to the uncertain security situation in Khartoum and closure of the airport, it is not currently safe to undertake a U.S. government-coordinated evacuation of private U.S. citizens.” | Soon after, however, the American Embassy said in a security alert that “due to the uncertain security situation in Khartoum and closure of the airport, it is not currently safe to undertake a U.S. government-coordinated evacuation of private U.S. citizens.” |
| But hours later, a Twitter account purportedly run by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by General Burhan’s rival, Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan, announced in a statement that they had assisted American forces in evacuating all embassy personnel and their families. | But hours later, a Twitter account purportedly run by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by General Burhan’s rival, Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan, announced in a statement that they had assisted American forces in evacuating all embassy personnel and their families. |
| “The Rapid Support Forces Command has coordinated with the U.S. Forces Mission consisting of 6 aircraft, for evacuating diplomats and their families on Sunday morning,” the statement said. (Twitter removed authentication last week, but the account had a significant number of followers and appeared to be legitimate. | |
| American officials said that Gen. Michael E. Langley, the head of the military’s Africa Command, had been in contact with the leaders of both factions ahead of the operation. But Mr. Bass noted the claim on social media that the Rapid Security Forces had “somehow coordinated with us and supported this operation” and rejected it. | |
| “That was not the case,” he said. “They cooperated to the extent that they did not fire on our service members in the course of the operation. And I would submit that as much in their self-interest as anything else.” | |
| U.S. officials have said that about 16,000 American citizens were living in Sudan, many of them dual nationals. | |
| Several countries have positioned planes in neighboring countries, ready to fly when the airport is clear. By one estimate, the planes will be able to carry up to 4,000 people in total. | Several countries have positioned planes in neighboring countries, ready to fly when the airport is clear. By one estimate, the planes will be able to carry up to 4,000 people in total. |
| But any flights in and out of Khartoum are risky. The area around the airport, including the military headquarters, has been the site of some of the most intense fighting over the past week. And residents said that gun battles continued to rage in several parts of the city on Saturday morning, including near the airport. | But any flights in and out of Khartoum are risky. The area around the airport, including the military headquarters, has been the site of some of the most intense fighting over the past week. And residents said that gun battles continued to rage in several parts of the city on Saturday morning, including near the airport. |
| With the flights most likely to be limited to diplomatic staff, at least initially, other groups are making plans to leave the city by road. The United Nations is preparing a large convoy to leave as early as Sunday, having negotiated safe passage with the warring parties. It was unclear whether non-United Nations personnel would be allowed to join the convoy. | |
| Road travel also involves considerable risk. Khartoum is 600 miles from the border with Egypt and 525 miles from Port Sudan on the Red Sea — about the same distance from New York City to Columbus, Ohio, but through areas contested by the two sides. | Road travel also involves considerable risk. Khartoum is 600 miles from the border with Egypt and 525 miles from Port Sudan on the Red Sea — about the same distance from New York City to Columbus, Ohio, but through areas contested by the two sides. |
| Foreigners and wealthy Sudanese have turned to private security companies to help escape Khartoum, but risks remain. The security official said that one convoy carrying 17 people had made a 14-hour journey from the city on Friday, only to arrive in a heavily contested area where gun battles continued on Saturday. | Foreigners and wealthy Sudanese have turned to private security companies to help escape Khartoum, but risks remain. The security official said that one convoy carrying 17 people had made a 14-hour journey from the city on Friday, only to arrive in a heavily contested area where gun battles continued on Saturday. |
| Earlier, General al-Burhan said that diplomats from Saudi Arabia had been evacuated by land to Port Sudan, in the country’s east, and taken to Saudi Arabia, with a similar operation expected to take place for Jordanian citizens. Hungary’s foreign minister said on Saturday that 14 Hungarian citizens and 48 foreign nationals, most of them American and Italian citizens, had been evacuated by sea and were headed to Egypt. | Earlier, General al-Burhan said that diplomats from Saudi Arabia had been evacuated by land to Port Sudan, in the country’s east, and taken to Saudi Arabia, with a similar operation expected to take place for Jordanian citizens. Hungary’s foreign minister said on Saturday that 14 Hungarian citizens and 48 foreign nationals, most of them American and Italian citizens, had been evacuated by sea and were headed to Egypt. |
| As the clashes continued, Sudan’s health care system was teetering, and there were few signs that the two warring factions would stop fighting. Out of 78 major hospitals in the country, only 55 are operational, according to the physicians association. | As the clashes continued, Sudan’s health care system was teetering, and there were few signs that the two warring factions would stop fighting. Out of 78 major hospitals in the country, only 55 are operational, according to the physicians association. |
| “The health care system is about to collapse,” Mohamed Eisa, the secretary general of the Sudanese American Physicians Association, a United States-based nonprofit, said in a telephone interview from Khartoum. “We must secure a safe passage for the injured.” | “The health care system is about to collapse,” Mohamed Eisa, the secretary general of the Sudanese American Physicians Association, a United States-based nonprofit, said in a telephone interview from Khartoum. “We must secure a safe passage for the injured.” |
| Gunfire had stopped on Friday evening, leaving Khartoum residents hopeful that a break was in sight. Dr. Eisa said that for the first time, he had been able to get some sleep at his home in southern Khartoum, where the fighting has been continuous. | Gunfire had stopped on Friday evening, leaving Khartoum residents hopeful that a break was in sight. Dr. Eisa said that for the first time, he had been able to get some sleep at his home in southern Khartoum, where the fighting has been continuous. |
| It did not last long. | It did not last long. |
| He woke up on Saturday morning to the sound of gunfire and heavy machinery. “It was as if nothing had happened,” he said of the dashed hopes for some respite. | He woke up on Saturday morning to the sound of gunfire and heavy machinery. “It was as if nothing had happened,” he said of the dashed hopes for some respite. |
| Constant Méheut contributed reporting from Paris and Eric Schmitt contributed reporting from Washington state. |