The U.S. is positioning more military capabilities near Sudan for a potential mission to evacuate its diplomats from the capital Khartoum as security there deteriorates.
The U.S. is deploying resources “for contingency purposes” to help get U.S. Embassy personnel out of the country, Lieutenant Colonel Phil Ventura, a Defense Department spokesman, said in a statement. Another U.S. official, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations, said the troops were being sent to a U.S. base in Djibouti.
The conflict between Sudan’s military and Rapid Support Forces that erupted at the weekend has engulfed the Khartoum and several other towns and rendered parts of the country a no-fly zone. U.S. Embassy staff are sheltering in place for now, and the administration is trying to get them together in one place, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
Some U.S. forces are being moved “nearby just for contingency purposes in case they would be needed for any kind of evacuation,” Kirby said, a precaution he said was approved by President Joe Biden. But Kirby said no decision has been made on an evacuation, and “the focus right now is on urging both sides to stop this violence and to abide by a cease-fire.”
Politico reported earlier that Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman told lawmakers on Wednesday that troops were deploying to Djibouti, where the U.S. has a large base, Camp Lemonnier.
Japan, Germany and other nations are struggling to evacuate their citizens from Sudan amid the fighting. Water, health care and other services are becoming increasingly hard to access. Kirby said the U.S. had no indication that Americans were being deliberately targeted in the violence.
International efforts to broker a cease-fire have stalled, with mediators unable to access the North African country. United Nations staff within Sudan have been attacked and their homes and offices have been looted, internal U.N. reports seen by Bloomberg show.
The World Health Organization estimates that more than 270 people have died and at least 2,600 have been injured, tallies that are set to rise as fighting continued for a sixth day on Thursday.
(Iain Marlow and Jordan Fabian contributed to this report.)
