Hundreds of US citizens evacuated from Sudan amid conflict

“Several hundred” Americans have fled Sudan during a ceasefire in the country’s ongoing power struggle, which has seen the streets of Khartoum become a war zone, a State Department spokesman said.

The State Department said Friday that “less than 5,000” people had requested information from the department on the conflict, and that “a fraction” of that number has requested assistance leaving the country.

The U.S. embassy in Khartoum was evacuated last weekend by Navy SEALs as the civil conflict in the country continues to heat up. Earlier this week, the U.S. and others negotiated a 72-hour ceasefire in the conflict which was extended for 72 additional hours on Friday.

However, reports of fighting in the country continue despite the ceasefire, including shots at a Turkish military evacuation plane.

“It is clear that there have been multiple violations of the ceasefire,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said. “But implementing ceasefires is often difficult at the start, but the violations of the ceasefire do not mean a failure of the ceasefire. And we are working with partners to ensure better monitoring of activity and engaging both parties to improve adherence.”

An estimated 16,000 Americans were present in the country before the conflict, many of them U.S.-Sudanese dual citizens.

Some U.S. citizens have taken refuge in Saudi Arabia, with the Saudi foreign ministry announcing that some Americans were among the nearly 1900 people evacuated to the country on Saturday.

The Department of Defense (DOD) announced Saturday that it approved a request for assistance from the State Department to support the safe departure of U.S. citizens and immediate family members, which they are acting on.