State Department says it’s in contact with ‘several hundred’ American citizens in Sudan

The US State Department says it is in contact with hundreds of US citizens in Sudan as escalating civil strife emerges in the African country.

The explosions and gunfire began on Saturday amid armed clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF) and Sudan’s army, which are battling for control of the country.

State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said during a press briefing about the security precautions.

“We have been in contact with several hundred private US citizens who we understand are in Sudan. And many of them have registered through our Smart Traveler Program, which, as I said, is a mechanism in which we have put in place security precautions and other measures. I’m in direct contact with them to talk about it, but given the fluidity of the situation, I’m not going to be more specific than that,” Patel said.

Pentagon monitors evacuation of Sudan embassy, ​​US forces deployed to Djibouti

Smoke rises from a fire following a strike in Khartoum, Sudan, Sunday, April 16, 2023. In the form of “Operation”, the country’s armed forces and a powerful rival deployed heavy weapons in urban areas for the fourth day. (AP Photo/Abdullah Moneem)

Last week, an American citizen was killed in Sudan.

The 24-hour ceasefire went into effect at 6 p.m. Wednesday, and fighting became less intense in the hours after it began, according to Atiya Abdullah Atiya, secretary of the doctors’ syndicate.

Several countries and the United Nations urged for an extension of the ceasefire. Military generals from both sides agreed on Friday to end a “humanitarian truce for a period of 72 hours”.

A senior US official confirmed to Fox News on Thursday that the US military is preparing to deploy additional forces to Djibouti in preparation for a possible mission to assess US embassy personnel in Sudan’s capital city, Khartoum.

Bloody Sudan conflict continues despite ceasefire, international pressure

Topshot – This photo from AFPTV video footage on April 20, 2023 shows an aerial view of black smoke rising above Khartoum International Airport amid ongoing fighting between the armies of two rival generals. Hundreds of people have been killed since fighting began on April 15 between forces loyal to Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commanded the paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF). (Photo by AFP) (Photo by – / AFP via Getty Images) (AFP via Getty Images)

Destroyed military vehicles are seen in southern Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, April 20, 2023. The latest attempt at a ceasefire between rival Sudanese forces faltered as gunfire rocked the capital of Khartoum. Throughout the night and into Thursday morning, almost continuous gunfire could be heard in Khartoum. (AP Photo/Marwan Ali)

Embassy staff have been sheltering at the site since last weekend, when the explosions and gunfire began.

on Friday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed during a press conference that US troops have been deployed nearby as a security measure.

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US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks to the media after a meeting of the ‘Ukraine Defense Contact Group’ at Ramstein Air Base in Ramstein, Germany on April 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Mathias Schrader)

“We always want to make sure we’re doing prudent planning, which we’re doing,” Austin said. “We have deployed some forces in theater to make sure we provide as many options as possible if we are called upon to do something. We haven’t been called upon to do anything yet.”

Fox News’ Chris Pandolfo, Liz Frieden, Lawrence Richard and The Associated Press contributed to this report.