On Friday, the White House said it had no plans for a government-coordinated evacuation of an estimated 16,000 American citizens trapped in Sudan.
Even as the warring sides said Friday they’d agreed to a cease-fire for the three-day Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, explosions and gunfire rang out across Khartoum on Saturday. Two cease-fire attempts earlier this week also rapidly collapsed.
The French are rescuing Americans, as this White House once again decides to leave Americans behind.
IT IS AFGHANISTAN AGAIN AS THE WHITE HOUSE LEAVES US CITIZENS BEHIND
Several U.S. Citizens contacted the U.S. government for assistance.
“One of the Americans said they called and emailed the State Department last week, only to be told that the U.S. government would not be assisting with the evacuation of its citizens. (“This is not Lebanon in 2006,” a senior administration official told NatSec Daily.) Another American citizen who was living in Sudan for work said they eventually found a way out of the country after getting on a French convoy.
“Asked about whether the Biden administration coordinated with European countries to help evacuate American citizens from Khartoum, a second senior U.S. official said: “We’ve remained in touch with American citizens and have offered best practices … on security measures and precautions to take on the ground.” The official did not specify whether the administration had specifically asked the French to help with evacuations.”
Thousands of Americans were told to shelter in place. There are 16,000 Americans registered with the embassy, but Antony Blinken said on Monday, “Dozens” of Americans have expressed interest in leaving Sudan. Then he sad they don’t know how many Americans are in Sudan.
Basically, we’re doing little to help
The US claimed it worked closely with allies on coordinating some evacuations of Americans and Europeans. NSA Jake Sullivan said theybegan to facilitate the land route out by putting surveillance and reconnaissance assets over the route.
For days, Americans have largely had to fend for themselves, according to the Americans in Khartoum who spoke to NatSec Daily.
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The U.S. government evacuated its diplomats from the Sudanese capital on Sunday but left behind hundreds of Americans who have spent days scrambling to find ways to flee the city.
“In social media and text messages sent from Khartoum, Americans shared stories with NatSec Daily about narrowly escaping gun fighting and coming close to getting stuck between exchanges of rocket-propelled grenades as they tried to find safe passage to the airport and port. The current violence has led to more than 400 people dead and thousands wounded.”
EXACTLY LIKE THE AGHANISTAN EVACUATION
Rebecca Winter, whose sister and 18-month-old niece are in Sudan, told CNN that they are in an “awful holding pattern” because her sister “has been told by both the US embassy and the international school that she works for that she has to shelter in place, and that she should not accept any offers for private evacuation.”
“So she is just stuck waiting right now in fear,” she said.
Although the US State Department warned Americans against traveling to Sudan, Winter said that according to her sister, “US employees there were not asked to leave the country.”
Fatima Elsheikh, whose two brothers are in Sudan, also pushed back on the claim that US citizens who were already on the ground were warned before the outbreak of violence.
“It makes me upset, because there was no warning. I don’t, I think it’s being painted as a country that’s been war-torn for a while, which isn’t true. This is unprecedented, what’s happening,” she said.
THE FRENCH HELPED THEM OUT
Leaving his apartment building, one of the American citizens said he and a group of 20 people left to meet the French military convoy in the middle of the night, reports Politico.
Buildings were riddled with bullets, others caught fire, windows blown out, and they were burning everything.
“The French military then led the group out of the city to an undisclosed location — an air strip two hours outside of the city. The caravan included 25 armored vehicles. They got into French and European military aircraft,” Politico added.
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