Buses carrying about 300 Americans left the war-torn capital of Sudan late Friday, after Washington came under intense pressure to explain why other countries had rescued their nationals but thousands of U.S. citizens remained without help.
It came as Khartoum continued to rock with the sound of explosions despite a tentative ceasefire, and foreign leaders tried to broker a fresh truce.
The U.S. convoy reportedly set off late Friday on a lengthy journey to a safe location.
It is being monitored by armed drones flying overhead, according to the New York Times.
The effort was starting as other countries were winding down their rescue efforts.
The U.K. said it was ending its evacuation flights within the next 24 hours after a drop in demand.
The capital Khartoum has been battered by clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army as rival generals battle for power in Africa’s third biggest country
On Sunday, U.S. special forces carried out a precarious evacuation of the U.S. Embassy in Sudan. Images of foreigners fleeing are being used by Islamists to say they are winning the war against the West, just like the Taliban did in Afghanistan when Americans fled in 2021
It said it had flown 1,573 people on 13 flights the Wadi Saeedna airfield near the capital although thousands more UK passport holders may remain.
Earlier, a State Department spokesman said several hundred U.S. citizens had already left Sudan by land, sea or air, and that officials had helped Americans get seats on flights operated by allies.
‘This is a collective and collaborative effort,’ said Vedant Patel.
Fewer than 5,000 people have requested additional information from the State Department, and only a fraction of those are Americans who have actively sought Washington’s assistance to leave the country.
The United Nations says more that 500 people have been killed as two rival generals fight for supremacy.
They each have the backing of different regional powers, raising fears of a war that could suck in much of northern and eastern Africa.
The U.S. used a ceasefire last weekend to evacuate the embassy in Khartoum.
And Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the United States had deployed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets to support air and land evacuation routes, which Americans were using.
PIctured: British Nationals about to board an RAF aircraft in Sudan, for evacuation to Larnaca International Airport in Cyprus
The Marine Security Guard Detachment assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, take hold of the U.S. flag during a flag-folding ceremony at the U.S. Embassy, on April 22, 2023
‘This is a dynamic environment, and any option entails a degree of risk,’ she said Thursday.
‘But because the situation is unlikely to improve, we encourage Americans who want to leave to take advantage of the options that are available to them in the next 24 to 48 hours.’
Earlier an American doctor has been identified as the second U.S. citizen to have died in fierce fighting that has rocked the African nation of Sudan.
The death of Bushra Ibnauf Sulieman, a Sudanese-American father-of-four, was announced by the Sudanese American Medical Association.
He was in the capital Khartoum with his wife and two young children while caring for his parents and providing frontline medical help during the armed clashes.
He died from stab wounds after being attacked as he escorted his father to a medical appointment during a tentative ceasefire.
The death of Bushra Ibnauf Sulieman, a Sudanese-American father-of-four, was announced by the Sudanese American Medical Association. He is the second American killed in Sudan
The fighting pitches army chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, who has allied himself with the country’s Islamists, against Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo (better known as Hemedti) who heads the Rapid Support Forces
‘He was someone who believed in Sudan,’ his friend and colleague Dr. Yasir Elamin told the BBC World Service.
‘He spent a significant amount of his time educating the next generation of Sudanese doctors. He was very charismatic … everybody loved him.’
The fighting pits the armed forces of Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. Each side has failed to deal a knockout blow to the other in their struggle for control of Africa’s third largest nation.
Sudan’s army has been carrying out airstrikes on RSF forces spread across the Khartoum and its neighboring cities.
The U.N. says at least 512 people have died in the fighting and as many as 4200 have been wounded in the past two weeks, although the actual toll is likely to be far higher.
