The US State Department confirmed the death of a US citizen in Sudan on Friday (local time). Due to the tense situation in the state in north-east Africa, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin had already declared at a press conference at the US Ramstein Airbase late Friday afternoon that preparations were being made for various evacuation options: “We have sent some troops to the country , to ensure we have as many options as possible should we be called upon to act.”
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said US President Joe Biden this week approved a plan to move US forces if they were needed to evacuate American diplomats.
According to a Pentagon statement, US Chief of Staff Mark Milley discussed the security of Americans in Sudan in a telephone conversation with Sudanese army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan late Friday evening.
Several hundred US citizens in Sudan
Washington had previously stated that American private individuals in Sudan should not expect a US government-coordinated evacuation from the country. According to Deputy State Department Spokesman Vedant Patel, the government is currently in contact with several hundred US citizens who are in Sudan.
According to Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, the federal government is also preparing several options for an evacuation from Sudan. “The situation is absolutely dramatic and absolutely confusing,” said the Green politician on Friday in Berlin after a meeting of the crisis team at the Federal Foreign Office.
The number of Germans who reported a desired evacuation is growing daily and is currently in the “lower three-digit range”. The problem is now also the power outages, so that the evacuees can no longer charge their mobile phones and therefore may soon no longer be able to be informed in this way, said a spokesman for the Federal Foreign Office. We are in contact with several governments.
The army and the paramilitary militia RSF have been fighting for power in Sudan for almost a week. On Friday, the army agreed to a three-day ceasefire to allow for the Muslim fast-breaking festival after Ramadan.
However, as a Reuters reporter reported, despite the agreed ceasefire, there were again violent exchanges of fire and isolated airstrikes in the capital Khartoum. (Reuters)
