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Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces claim they coordinated Sunday’s evacuation with US forces.
Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have reported that a six-aircraft US military mission has evacuated US diplomats and their families from the country.
“The Rapid Support Forces Command has coordinated with the US Forces mission, consisting of 6 aircraft, for the evacuation of diplomats and their families on Sunday morning,” the RSF said in a tweet.
The RSF also pledged “full cooperation with all diplomatic missions, providing all necessary means of protection and ensuring their safe return to their countries”.
Portal news agency, citing a source familiar with the operation, reported that the US military had successfully completed the evacuation of embassy staff from Sudan.
A US official confirmed to the Associated Press that US troops safely exited Sudanese airspace after airlifting embassy staff from the capital, Khartoum.
US President Joe Biden ordered US soldiers to evacuate embassy staff after receiving a recommendation from his national security team on Saturday, according to the official, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. The evacuation order was believed to apply to about 70 US citizens. US forces flew them from a landing zone near the embassy to an unspecified location.
According to Portal, the Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
More than 150 people from different nations arrived in the safety of Saudi Arabia on Saturday in the first announced evacuation of civilians from Sudan, where fighting between the army and paramilitaries entered the second week after a brief lull.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday announced the “safe arrival” of 91 of its citizens, along with nationals from Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Tunisia, Pakistan, India, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Canada and Burkina Faso .
Saudi naval forces transported the civilians, including diplomats and international officials, across the Red Sea from Port Sudan to Jeddah.
Foreign nations have said they are preparing for the possible evacuation of thousands more of their nationals, even though Sudan’s main airport remains closed. The ongoing fighting has left hundreds dead and thousands wounded as people struggle to survive without electricity and food.
The army led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the rival RSF led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, have so far failed to honor the ceasefires agreed almost daily since hostilities broke out on April 15.
“I don’t think we will survive this”
Matthew Majok, a student in Khartoum, told Al Jazeera the situation is dire, particularly due to the lack of access to food and stray gunfire.
“We want to leave this country for security reasons. We heard that the situation will get worse in a few days. I don’t think we will survive this, we want out,” he said.
Saturday’s fighting broke a three-day ceasefire starting Friday that was supposed to allow citizens to get to safety and visit family during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr. Both sides accused each other of not respecting the ceasefire.
“I have no problem with the ceasefire,” Hemedti told Al Arabiya TV late Saturday. “She [the army] didn’t respect it. If they respect it, so will we.”
The United Nations and foreign states have urged rival military leaders to honor declared ceasefires, open safe passages for civilians fleeing the fighting, and provide urgently needed food and medical aid.
Khaled Ahmed Idris, a director at Omdurman Teaching Hospital in northern Khartoum, told Al Jazeera that there was a serious shortage of medical staff and those currently working at the hospital when fighting broke out last week. The hospital is only at 20 percent occupancy as fighting prevents staff from reaching the facility, he said.
“There is no longer a way to bring other medical personnel to the hospital from their homes or areas. Of course, the doctors and nurses who have been here since last Saturday are completely exhausted.”
Western countries are expected to send planes for their citizens from Djibouti, although the Sudanese army has said airports in Khartoum and Darfur’s largest city, Nyala, are problematic and it’s not clear when this might be possible.
A foreign diplomat, who asked not to be identified, said some diplomatic staff in Khartoum are hoping for an evacuation by air from Port Sudan in the next two days.