A US-organized convoy in Sudan brought citizens fleeing fighting in Khartoum to a port on the Red Sea as part of an expanded American rescue effort after the evacuation of embassy staff from the capital.
(Bloomberg) — A US-organized convoy in Sudan brought citizens fleeing fighting in Khartoum to a port on the Red Sea as part of an expanded American rescue effort after the evacuation of embassy staff from the capital.
US unmanned aircraft provided surveillance for a bus convoy carrying 200 to 300 Americans some 500 miles (800 kilometers) to Port Sudan, the Associated Press quoted US officials as saying. The Defense Department has deployed US intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets to support evacuation routes, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said in a statement.
The convoy, which also carried locally employed staff and nationals of allied and partner countries, arrived at Port Sudan on Saturday and people are being helped to travel onward to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.Â
Hundreds of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands are fleeing as the war that’s tearing Sudan apart enters its third week, despite cease-fire pledges from the army and the rival Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group that have been battling for control of the North African country since April 15.Â
The US has rebuffed calls for a broader government-organized evacuation from Sudan after mounting a military operation to evacuate American personnel from Khartoum.Â
Fewer than 5,000 US citizens in Sudan have contacted the State Department and only a small number said they wanted to leave, department spokesman Vedant Patel said Friday. Hundreds of US citizens other than diplomats have departed Sudan by land, sea and air with assistance by the government, Miller said Saturday.
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