UK Military Evacuations In Sudan Underway

As the United Kingdom conducts evacuation operations of British nationals in Khartoum, Sudan during a 72-hour ceasefire, the United States refuses to evacuate Americans, alleging that it is too dangerous, according to The Washington Examiner. After negotiations, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have reportedly agreed to a ceasefire which is now the first one of its kind that is holding. 

The British government is taking advantage of the opportunity and has begun to board nationals onto flights from an airfield outside of the capital. A statement tweeted by the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office says that people with children, those who are elderly, and those with medical conditions will be given priority, adding that they will contact those who are eligible. 

However, the Pentagon has deemed the situation to be too uncertain to allow military aircraft to evacuate Americans and dual citizens. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that the U.S. is doing everything to get important information out to citizens looking to get out, adding that an evacuation would only put more Americans in danger. 

The Biden administration is instead suggesting that Americans make a 500-mile drive overland to Port Sudan. Kirby added that the best course of action is to instead “shelter in place” rather than leave. He subtly added that Americans who are currently there ignored warnings to leave, which is a sentiment that President Biden held after withdrawing military troops from Afghanistan. 

National security adviser Jake Sullivan said that convoys will be waiting at Port Sudan. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul recalled the Afghanistan withdrawal and said that the U.S. has left 16,000 Americans with a message that they are on their own. 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, however, said that the State Department does not know how many Americans are stranded there and want to come home because they are “not required to register with the embassy.”