(ReclaimingAmerica.net) – US special forces have performed a risky but quick evacuation of the American embassy in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, in East Africa, amid intensifying fighting between the Sudanese military and a paramilitary militia.
Some 100 US special operations service personnel with three MH-47 helicopters participated in the rescue of the last 70 staffers of the US Embassy in Khartoum.
President Joe Biden announced the airlift operation in a statement, revealing it was supported by Sudan’s neighbor Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Saudi Arabia.
“Today, on my orders, the United States military conducted an operation to extract US Government personnel from Khartoum in response to the situation in Sudan,” said a tweet on Biden’s behalf.
“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,” Biden declared.
“I am grateful for the unmatched skill of our service members who successfully brought them to safety,” the president added.
According to US Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Affairs Molly Phee, Ethiopia provided the US special forces with overflight and fueling support.
The rescued US diplomatic staff were taken to an undisclosed location. The entire mission was over in less than an hour, and there were no shots fired and no casualties, The Associated Press reported, as cited by Newsmax.
The evacuation of the diplomatic staff left the US Embassy in Khartoum permanently shut down.
At the same time, however, thousands of American citizens remain in Sudan, but, according to US officials, a broader evacuation mission would be too dangerous.
Some 16,000 US citizens have been registered with the embassy in Khartoum as residing in Sudan, but the number remaining in the country might differ.
“I am receiving regular reports from my team on their ongoing work to assist Americans in Sudan, to the extent possible. In his statement, we are also working closely with our allies and partners in this effort,” Biden said.
He also called for ending the “unconscionable” violence in the East African country.
At least 400 people have been killed in the clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
Many roads throughout Sudan, a country of 48 million people whose territory is bigger than Alaska, are in the hands of armed bands. The fighting led to the closure of Khartoum’s international airport.
The fighting broke out on April 15 between the forces of two military commanders – the armed forces chief, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the head of the paramilitary group, Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo.
A year and a half earlier, Burhan and Dagalo collaborated in a military coup that destroyed Sudan’s transition to a democratic government after decades of dictatorship.
The AP report reveals that the US Africa Command and the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Gen. Mark Milley, were in contact with both warring sides before and during the embassy evacuation to guarantee the rescue would go safely.
US Undersecretary of State John Bass denied claims by the rebels from the Rapid Security Forces that their troops helped in the US embassy evacuation.
“They cooperated to the extent that they did not fire on our service members in the course of the operation,” Bass said.
Biden on Saturday ordered the evacuation of U.S. embassy staff in Khartoum, Sudan, amid worsening fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, a rival paramilitary force. https://t.co/SyvXe1xL0W
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) April 23, 2023
