On his orders, Joe Biden said on Saturday, the US had evacuated its government employees from Khartoum and had temporarily halted operations at its embassy in Sudan.
Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Saudi Arabia, he claimed in a White House statement, were “instrumental” in the evacuation’s success.
The US Africa Command oversaw the evacuation in close coordination with the State Department. Washington was very clear that the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were not at all a part of the operation.
“They cooperated to the extent that they did not fire on our service members in the course of the operation,” State Department Under Secretary for Management John Bass said in a call with reporters. Biden added in his statement that while embassy operations in Sudan are temporarily suspended, the US commitment “to the Sudanese people and the future they want is never-ending”.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken admitted in another statement that while the decision to temporarily suspend embassy operations “is always difficult”, the safety of embassy staff is “a priority” and the step has been taken in the face of the “increasing and serious risks” caused by the conflict.
