(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) U.S. special operations teams left behind thousands of American citizens in Sudan after the initial evacuation of staff and their families from the U.S. Embassy while fighting broke out in the war-torn country.
According to the Daily Caller, the Biden administration told the 16,000 citizens they left behind that they should not expect evacuation, despite other countries working to extract theirs.
“It is not our standard procedure to evacuate American citizens living abroad,” said Press Secretary Karine Jean–Pierre in a conference addressing the issue.
The statement stands in stark contrast to the mass evacuation of Afghanistan following the U.S. withdrawal from the country.
Although it failed to secure all of the American citizens and allied partners from under the rule of the Taliban, Biden’s administration nonetheless boasted of having “executed the largest airlift in U.S. history.”
In a recent postmortem report on the failed withdrawal, which largely deflected blame onto the prior Trump administration, White House officials further said that they “now prioritize earlier evacuations when faced with a degrading security situation.”
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan appeared to undermine Jean–Pierre’s claim regarding the Sudanese evacuation. He said the administration was overseeing overland evacuations, despite the lack of American troops on the ground.
The State Department issued a Level 4 travel warning after infighting between two Sudanese militant groups ensued in April. The warning called the situation “violent, volatile, and extremely unpredictable, particularly in the capital city of Khartoum.”
The Biden administration issued a statement reaffirming its commitment “to the Sudanese people and the future they want,” but temporarily suspended operations in the African nation.
“Today, on my orders, the United States military conducted an operation to extract U.S. Government personnel from Khartoum,” said Biden in a press release. “I am grateful for the unmatched skill of our service members who successfully brought them to safety.”
America seems to be one of the only nations making no effort to rescue the citizens who took up residence in the country.
The German military rescued more than 400 people via helicopter, Italian C-130’s airlifted almost 200 people from the Khartoum airport, and the Japanese government evacuated 45 citizens via military transport.
The U.S. government estimate of nearly 16,000 Americans residing in Sudan may, in fact, be an outdated figure; it is possible that the number is much higher.
Trapped citizens are no longer receiving services from the embassy staff.
Pathways out of the country are not clear, as the conflicting groups blocked off roads. The airport in the country’s capitol is no longer operational for civilian flights.
The State Department alerted Americans to the danger of travel and advised them to shelter in place, making escape impossible.
Sudanese officials estimate that nearly 400 people were killed in the first week of fighting, including one American.
