WASHINGTON — As the security situation in Sudan deteriorated Friday, the Biden administration defended its decision not to evacuate US Embassy staff sooner from the volatile African country.
The US is currently readying forces in Djibouti to assist with a potential evacuation of US Embassy personnel from Sudan, where heavy fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed more than 400 people since Saturday, including a US citizen.
The White House said Friday no decision had been made on whether to withdraw the American diplomats in the country given the current security conditions, including heavy fighting around the international airport in Khartoum and the closure of the Sudan-Chad border.
Concerns for the safety of American diplomats grew after a US diplomatic convoy came under fire in Khartoum on Monday in an attack that Secretary of State Antony Blinken attributed to forces affiliated with the RSF.
