US says convoy brought its citizens, others to Port Sudan

Civilians onboard a commercial ship are seen as it docks at Jeddah Sea Port, evacuated by Saudi Arabia from Sudan to escape the conflicts, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, April 29, 2023. (Reuters)

• Additional US personnel positioned to assist with consular and emergency services in Jeddah: Statement

WASHINGTON D.C.: A US-organized convoy carrying American citizens, local staff, and nationals from allied countries arrived Saturday in Port Sudan, the State Department said, as an exodus from war-torn Sudan continued.
From that Red Sea port, the statement added, “we are assisting US citizens and others who are eligible with onward travel to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia where additional US personnel are positioned to assist with consular and emergency services.”
The statement, from State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, did not specify how many people were in the convoy but said that hundreds of Americans have left Sudan in addition to the diplomats pulled out in a military-led airlift a week ago.
State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said Friday that fewer than 5,000 people have been in touch with the State Department about efforts to leave Sudan, although it was impossible to verify how many were in the country and wanted to go.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that “dozens” of US citizens hoped to leave and that most who remained in Sudan were dual nationals.
“We messaged every US citizen in Sudan who communicated with us during the crisis and provided specific instructions about joining this convoy to those who were interested in departing via the land route,” the State Department said.
The statement encouraged any US citizens who still want to leave to contact the State Department.
“Intensive negotiations by the United States with the support of our regional and international partners enabled the security conditions that have allowed the departure of thousands of foreign and US citizens,” the statement said.
The Pentagon meantime said it had “deployed US intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets to support air and land evacuation routes, which Americans are using.”
“We are moving naval assets within the region to provide any necessary support along the coast,” said the statement from Sabrina Singh, the deputy Pentagon press secretary.
Fighting since April 15 between Sudan’s army chief and paramilitary fighters led by his former deputy has killed more than 500 people, wounded thousands and displaced some 75,000, authorities say.
It has triggered a mass exodus of foreigners and international staff.