A convoy of buses with about 300 American citizens left the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Friday towards the Red Sea. The convoy took an evacuation route that is also used by the United Nations and other countries, it writes The New York Times.
The journey of about 845 kilometers is the first attempt by the United States to evacuate American citizens from the country, according to the newspaper. The buses were followed by armed US drones.
In recent days, the US government has been repeatedly asked why it is not doing more to evacuate US citizens from Sudan when other countries are doing so. A spokesman for the US State Department said on Friday that hundreds of Americans have already left the country by land, sea and air.
The British government announced on Friday that evacuations of British nationals will end on Saturday as demand for flights abroad has fallen sharply. Britain has removed 1,573 people from Sudan since Tuesday, the British Foreign Office said.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Netherlands has now evacuated at least 160 Dutch people from the country. A total of seven evacuation flights were carried out. About 130 other evacuees from eighteen other nationalities were taken on the Dutch flights.
It was previously announced that the operation to remove Dutch people from Sudan will be scaled down. Most of the Dutch people known to the ministry have left the country, said Minister Wopke Hoekstra on Wednesday. The seventh flight was the last for the time being.
About two weeks ago, fierce armed clashes broke out in Sudan between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the army. More than 500 people have been killed so far. More than 4,000 people were injured. A ceasefire is currently in effect. Despite this, fighting is still taking place in various cities in the country.
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