Twice this week AlertsUSA subscribers were informed of security messages issued by the US Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, warning Americans in the country to shelter in place as an attempted coup plays out.
The fighting in the Sudanese capital and elsewhere in the country is the result of a power struggle within the nation's military leadership. The clashes are between the regular Sudanese army and a large paramilitary force called the Rapid Support Force (RSF). Both groups were previously allies, together having seized power from a civilian government in a 2021 coup. Now they are fighting each other, with tensions over the integration of the paramilitary force into the regular army.
Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, and its sister cities, Omdurman and Bahri, have been rocked by fierce battles. More than 300 people have died in the fighting, and another 3,200 more have been wounded. One of the deceased was an American citizen.
According to Wednesday's embassy alert, in addition to the ongoing fighting, there are also reports of assaults, home invasions, and looting. U.S. citizens are strongly advised to remain indoors and shelter in place until further notice.
Satellite images published earlier this week show 19 planes and one helicopter damaged and destroyed at Khartoum International Airport and at Merowe Airbase 200 miles north of the capital. Key infrastructure has also been damaged in the fighting, including Kobar Bridge near to the airport which connect south and north Khartoum.
Several nations are preparing for emergency evacuation of their citizens, including Germany, France, S. Korea, Japan, and the U.S..
According to a statement released by the Pentagon:
The Department of Defense, through U.S. Africa Command, is monitoring the situation in Sudan and conducting prudent planning for various contingencies. As part of this, we are deploying additional capabilities nearby in the region for contingency purposes related to securing and potentially facilitating the departure of U.S. Embassy personnel from Sudan, if circumstances require it.
Using the public flight tracker ADSB-Exchange, on Thursday alone AlertsUSA counted more than one dozen USAF C-17A military transports flying into and out of nearby Camp Lemmonier in Djibouti.
There are approximately 70 US Embassy staffers stranded in Khartoum, as well as an estimated 16,000 Americans, many of them dual citizens. NBC News is reporting that around 500 of those American citizens had been in touch with the U.S. Embassy as of Wednesday and 55 had requested an evacuation. That number is expected to rise. Japan, South Korea, Germany and Spain have also been unable to evacuate embassy staff and are coordinating with the U.S. and staging resources in the region.
An interesting aspect to the current Sudan conflict are the ties with Russia's Wagner Group. It is reported that Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, owner of the Wagner Group, is also owner of several companies operating Sudan's most lucrative gold mines. The revenue generated from these operations is also reported to be used to help fund Russia's war effort in Ukraine.
Small world, huh?
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