By: Emily Jacobs
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/author/emily-jacobs
The United States military evacuated American diplomats and their families from Sudan over the weekend as fighting between rival military factions threatens to plunge the country into a civil war, the White House confirmed Saturday evening.
Hundreds are dead, including one American, and thousands more have been wounded as a result of the fighting between Sudanese Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan’s military forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Both sides joined forces in 2021 to overthrow a coalition government, but the alliance soured over disputes related to the integration of paramilitary fighters into the regular forces. Both factions failed to uphold a planned 72-hour ceasefire, which was set to begin Friday for the Islamic Eid al-Fitr holiday.
U.S. President Joe Biden confirmed news of the successful evacuation in a statement Saturday, shortly after Pentagon officials began verifying reports about the mission.
>>"Today, on my orders, the United States military conducted an operation to extract U.S. Government personnel from Khartoum," the president said. "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. I am grateful for the unmatched skill of our service members who successfully brought them to safety."
Biden credited the support provided by Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Saudi Arabia as "critical to the success of our operation." He did not, however, credit the RSF, which said upon completion of the operation early Sunday local time that it assisted with the evacuation. He instead referred to both sides as "belligerent parties" who were causing "tragic violence."
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/us-embassy-sudan-evacuated-failed-ceasefire