White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby has told reporters that there are no current plans for the United States government to evacuate private American citizens from Sudan.
Kirby stated that “It’s absolutely imperative that U.S. citizens in Sudan make their own arrangements to stay safe in these difficult circumstances,” adding that “Americans should have no expectation of a U.S. government coordinated evacuation at this time. And we expect that that’s going to remain the case.”
State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel has previously stated that evacuation of American nationals in country would “not be safe to undertake” due to the closure of and fighting around the national airport Khartoum.
There are currently 16,000 Americans in Sudan, which has faced ongoing fighting since April 15 due to a power struggle between Sudanese military forces and paramilitary units of the Rapid Support Forces. So far, at least one American citizen has been killed in the clashes, according to the State Department.
The United States, along with several other countries, have prepositioned military forces in nearby Djibouti to carry out embassy evacuation efforts “if circumstances require it.”
