The army evacuated diplomatic staff from the embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, this weekend.
Today, on my orders, the United States military conducted an operation to extract U.S. Government personnel from Khartoum in response to the situation in Sudan.
I am grateful for the commitment of our Embassy staff and the skill of our service members who brought them to safety.
— President Biden (@POTUS) April 23, 2023
President Biden said he is working with remaining allies and partners in the civil war-torn country. He also stated that his team continues to work to "assist Americans in Sudan, to the extent possible."
Secretary of State Antony Blinken reported that the embassy's operations had been suspended, but that the government would continue to assist remaining Americans.
.@StateDept has suspended operations at @USEmbassyKRT and evacuated all U.S. personnel and their dependents. We continue to assist Americans in planning for their own safety. We will also continue to press to expand the ceasefire to prevent further damage to the Sudanese nation.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) April 23, 2023
Neither the president nor the secretary of state mentioned a possible similar plan for American civilians in the African country. The Pentagon had warned last Friday that it was not contemplating such a solution.
According to various sources, including the Open Source Intelligence Monitor, the operation was carried out by Special Forces. At least 70 Americans were reportedly evacuated by helicopter.
The Operation to Evacuate the U.S. Embassy in Sudan tonight appears to have been the definition of “Textbook” and went off close to perfectly.
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) April 23, 2023
The Department of Defense reported in a press release that service members spent less than an hour on the ground and that "the operation was quick and clean." The U.S. Africa Command was in charge of the operation.
Although the opposing sides did not agree to a formal ceasefire during the evacuation, the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) reportedly agreed not to attack the U.S. vehicles, according to BBC. There have been reports that internet connectivity was "almost totally collapsed" during the operation.
⚠️ Confirmed: Real-time network data show a near-total collapse of internet connectivity in #Sudan with national connectivity now at 2% of ordinary levels; the incident comes as foreign diplomats are evacuated amid fighting between military and paramilitary forces 📉 pic.twitter.com/qzIT5WmF42
— NetBlocks (@netblocks) April 23, 2023
European news outlets reported that the Netherlands and France also carried out evacuation efforts.