Second convoy of U.S. citizens fleeing Khartoum arrives at Port Sudan
A second convoy of American citizens arrived at the coastal city of Port Sudan on Sunday as part of an evacuation effort organized by the U.S. government. The convoy comprised about eight buses carrying American evacuees from Khartoum amid clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces.
The U.S. government, in concert with its allies, has now facilitated the departure of nearly 1,000 U.S. citizens, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement. Fewer than 5,000 U.S. citizens have sought guidance from the government, Miller added.
Sunday's eligible evacuees will travel by boat across the Red Sea to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where U.S. officials will assist them with consular and emergency services. A U.S. naval craft with military personnel seen on deck also arrived at Port Sudan on Sunday, CBS News foreign correspondent Ramy Inocencio reported.
The first civilian convoy of American evacuees arrived at Port Sudan on Saturday. It included 18 buses carrying several hundred U.S. citizens.
Security around the first convoy was described as "tight." Passengers were instructed not to use their cellphones. The 12-hour drive to the coast was confirmed to be under "top cover" protection, likely from U.S. military drones.
The U.S. had faced questions about why it hadn't organized evacuation efforts for civilians, while other countries, including Britain, Germany and France, did so. The U.S. evacuated its diplomats from the country and shuttered its embassy a week ago.
At least two American citizens have died amid the fighting, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby confirmed on Wednesday. Kirby said the second American died Tuesday but did not confirm their identity. However, the Sudanese American Physicians Association named the American as Bushra Ibnauf Sulieman, a doctor who practiced medicine in the U.S. for a number of years before returning to Sudan. The Associate Press reported that Sulieman was stabbed to death in Khartoum in front of his family by looters who were robbing him.
The death toll from the crisis in Sudan has climbed over 500, according to the World Health Organization, with thousands more wounded, leading to an exodus from Africa's third largest country. Khartoum, a city of some five million people, has been transformed into a battle zone in the grinding conflict between Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, the commander of Sudan's military, and Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, who leads the powerful Rapid Support Forces, which has dashed once-euphoric hopes for Sudan's democratic transition.
"We reiterate our warning to Americans not to travel to Sudan," Miller said in a statement on Saturday.