U.S. government personnel evacuated from Sudan

Amid ongoing violence in Sudan which has left hundreds of people dead, the U.S. military has successfully evacuated American government employees from the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum, CBS News has learned.

The details of the mission and the exact number of people evacuated was unclear. The Sudanese paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) tweeted that the U.S. military used six planes to conduct the evacuations early Sunday morning. It was unconfirmed if diplomats from any other nations were included. 

Sources familiar with the matter had previously told CBS News that the evacuation of roughly 70 U.S. government workers in Sudan had been in the planning stages all week. Sudan’s military said Saturday that they expected countries including the U.S. to begin evacuating “in the coming hours.” 

There are hundreds of American civilians in Sudan — 500 was the number shared with congressional sources. However, they were not to be included in the evacuation, sources familiar with the planning have told CBS News. The State Department acknowledges that some records show 16,000 U.S. citizens may be in Sudan, but officials consider those figures to be inflated.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby had said on Friday operations were underway at that time to bring U.S. government personnel to the relative safety of the embassy, and that American civilians would be responsible for their own safety and exit from the country. 

Kirby acknowledged that the personnel movements were part of preparation for an evacuation. “We want to be ready for that eventuality if it comes to that,” but cautioned “It is a very dangerous situation in Khartoum, as the fighting continues.”

Republican Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, the House Foreign Affairs Committee chair, said in a statement provided to CBS News Saturday night that “there will be consequences for those who interfere in the safe passage of American citizens, including our diplomats, who are fleeing indiscriminate violence in Khartoum and throughout Sudan.”

McCaul called on “regional partners to support the safe evacuation of civilians leaving Sudan.”

A U.S. diplomatic convoy flying the American flag was fired upon Monday while security attempted to bring Americans back to the compound. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called it a “reckless” and “irresponsible” act, and said that forces aligned with RSF — a paramilitary group led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo — had likely taken the shots.

Intense fighting between two rival Sudanese generals broke out earlier this month. Although multiple ceasefires have been called, gunfire has continued regardless. According to the latest numbers from the World Health Organization, at least 420 people have died in Sudan since the violence broke out earler this month. An American citizen died in the fighting on Thursday, the State Department said. 

As of Saturday afternoon, no decisions had been made public regarding whether the State Department will shutter the U.S. Embassy, or what will happen with the dozens of local non-American staff employed there.

Throughout the week, the Biden administration has been working to gather U.S. personnel in Khartoum to the diplomatic compound in the capital city. The Pentagon acknowledged that special operators had been moved into Djibouti to assist with the exit. 

The Department of Defense also said they are on standby, Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters at a news conference, “We deployed some forces into the theater to ensure that we provide as many options as possible if we are called on to do something, and we haven’t been called on to do anything yet. No decision on anything has been made.”

On Friday, the Sudanese Armed Forces posted to Facebook that their General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has received calls from the leaders of several countries to allow their citizens and diplomatic staff to evacuate. The post stated that al-Burhan has agreed to provide the necessary assistance and that the evacuation of diplomats from the U.S., Britain, France, and China was expected to start immediately. 

RSF tweeted Friday that they were ready to partially open all airports for friendly countries who wish to evacuate their citizens. Khartoum International Airport has been closed for several days. 

The two groups have been clashing since April 8, when al-Burhan dissolved a power-sharing council and announced his intention to hold elections this year. 

Until recently, the two groups were allies whose leadership had come together in 2019 to overthrow Sudan’s brutal dictator Omar al-Bashir. The return to civilian rule comes with a decision over which general will be subordinate to the other. This decision sparked heavy fighting earlier this month and conditions in Sudan’s cities have deteriorated.

— David Martin, Margaret Brennan, Christina Ruffini, Eleanor Watson, Haley Ott, and Caitlin Yilek contributed to this report.