Our sister publication Townhall reported on Friday morning about the Biden Administration announcing the Pentagon making preparations to evacuate U.S. Embassy personnel from Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, in Africa, after both a consular convoy was attacked and an American was killed in the midst of a brief ceasefire between two warring factions in the country:
In Thursday’s White House press briefing that came after President Biden’s decision to pre-position U.S. troops, [White House National Security Council spokesman] John Kirby — who served as Pentagon press secretary during the Biden administration’s deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan — said that the White House was using lessons it allegedly learned from August 2021 as it readied troops for a potential evacuation of the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum.
But according to both Kirby and the State Department’s Security Alert for Khartoum, there are no plans for a U.S. government-coordinated evacuation of private American citizens from Khartoum or the surrounding area. What’s more, the State Department warned citizens against trying to get to U.S. Embassy Khartoum and instead advised them to remain sheltering in place.
The Associated Press gave more details in its report:
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AP) — The Pentagon has deployed forces and is developing options to assist in the possible evacuation of U.S. Embassy personnel from Sudan, but the White House said Friday there are no plans for now for a broader pullout of the potentially thousands of other Americans from the African country where warring factions are in a violent conflict.
The troop moves by the U.S. military are intended “to ensure that we provide as many options as possible, if we are called on to do something. We haven’t been called on to do anything yet,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at a news conference in Germany. Austin and U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley, the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, held meeting meetings with defense leaders from other countries to discuss additional support for Ukraine. […]
The U.S. State department estimates that “16,000 private U.S. citizens are registered with the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum as being in Sudan,” although the AP noted, it “cautioned that that figure probably is inaccurate because there is no requirement for Americans to register nor is there a requirement to notify the embassy when they leave.”
AP also shared a statement from State on the slain American, but the department gave no further details on who it was or the circumstances of their death:
“We are in touch with the family and offer our deepest condolences to them on their loss. Out of respect for the family during this difficult time, we have nothing further to add,” the department said in a statement.
The report continued with some background on the conflict in Sudan:
The conflict between Sudan’s military and a rival paramilitary force is worsening. The military has ruled out negotiations and said it would only accept surrender as a temporary cease-fire ended, raising the likelihood of a renewed surge in the nearly weeklong violence that has killed hundreds.
As usual, RedState will keep you posted on developments in this ongoing story.