Utter Chaos Erupts In Sudan, 70 US Personnel Evacuate from Embassy

Another country has collapsed right under Biden’s nose.

On Sunday, the US military launched an emergency mission to evacuate over 70 U.S. personnel stationed in Sudan.

The US personnel were picked up from the US embassy in Khartoum

The evacuation comes as Sudan’s army and the paramilitary group RSF have staged several attacks against each other.

🚨 #BREAKING: A HEAVY US military presence—including military helicopters and combat aircraft—have been spotted in the skies above the U.S. embassy compound in Sudan as fighting continues

⚠️ EVACUATIONS OF THE EMBASSY ARE UNDERWAY pic.twitter.com/PThq1Nfcum

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) April 22, 2023

HORRIBLE – SENT TO ME: This is what the Dept of State has been telling Americans trapped in #Sudan before the military evacuation today of only government personnel. Many Americans trapped in Sudan, I am told. They may not be evacuated like those at the embassy. pic.twitter.com/3n973HUU3d

— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) April 23, 2023

Here’s what CBS reported:

Amid ongoing violence in Sudan that has left hundreds of people dead, the U.S. military has successfully evacuated American government employees from the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum, the White House announced late Saturday night. In a statement following the evacuation, President Joe Biden confirmed that the U.S. was “temporarily suspending operations” at the embassy.

Mr. Biden disclosed that he ordered the extraction operation and was “grateful for the unmatched skill of our service members who successfully brought” the U.S. diplomatic workers “to safety.”

The State Department also confirmed the U.S. Embassy’s temporary closure, adding that “the U.S. government cannot provide routine or emergency consular services to U.S. citizens in Sudan, due to the current security situation.”

In a statement, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called the evacuation a “successful operation,” and thanking “our allies and partners, including Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Saudi Arabia.”

In a State Department and Pentagon briefing overnight, officials said just over 100 U.S. troops, all special operations forces, executed the evacuation. Fewer than 100 people were evacuated from the embassy, including Marines who had been attached to the embassy and some foreign diplomatic professionals who were at the embassy. Troops were on the ground for less than an hour in what was described as a “fast and clean” operation. U.S. forces did not take any small arms fire heading in our out of Khartoum, U.S. officials said.

BREAKING: 70 American diplomats and their families have just been evacuated from the US embassy in Khartoum, Sudan. Details:

– A U.S Forces Mission consisting of 6 aircraft were deployed for the evacuation.

– This came a few hours after the U.S. Embassy in Sudan issued a… pic.twitter.com/6Dd94tBXLZ

— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) April 23, 2023

CNBC got the scoop too:

The U.S. military airlifted embassy officials out of Sudan on Sunday and international governments raced to evacuate their diplomatic staff and citizens trapped in the capital as rival generals battled for control of Africa’s third-largest country for a ninth day.

Fighting raged in Omdurman, the city across the Nile from Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, residents reported. The violence came despite a declared truce that was to coincide with the three-day Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

“We did not see such a truce,” said Amin al-Tayed from his home near state television headquarters in Omdurman. He said heavy gunfire and thundering explosions rocked the city. “The battles did not stop,” he said.

Thick black smoke filled the sky over Khartoum’s airport. The paramilitary group battling the Sudanese armed forces claimed the military unleashed airstrikes on the upscale neighborhood of Kafouri, north of Khartoum. There was no immediate comment from the army.

After a week of bloody battles that hindered rescue efforts, U.S. special forces swiftly evacuated some 70 U.S. embassy staffers from Khartoum to an undisclosed location in Ethiopia early Sunday. Although American officials said it was still too dangerous to carry out a government-coordinated mass evacuation of private citizens, other countries scrambled to evacuate their citizens and diplomats.