Second American killed in Sudanese violence, White House says
Mike Brest
Video Embed
A second American has died in Sudan, where rival military groups have fought for roughly the last two weeks.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the family,” National Security Council coordinator John Kirby said on Wednesday. “We continue to make clear at the highest levels of our government the leadership of both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces that they are responsible for ensuring the protection of civilians and noncombatants, including people from third countries and humanitarian staff that are working to save lives.”
US MILITARY WILL NOT BE AIDING AMERICANS STUCK IN DETERIORATING SUDAN CRISIS
He did not disclose the person’s identity, though CNN reported Dr. Bushra Ibnauf Sulieman, a Sudanese American physician, was killed on Tuesday in Khartoum, the country’s capital. Sulieman had taught at the University of Khartoum, and he died “after receiving fatal stab wounds in front of his house from unknown persons, according to the Preliminary Committee of Sudan Doctors’ Trade Union,” Dr. Yasir Elamin, the president of the Sudanese American Physicians Association, told the outlet.
The two warring sides, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, agreed to a three-day ceasefire, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday afternoon, though previously agreed-upon ceasefires had failed. This one appears to have reduced the fighting, however.
“Although there are some reports of violence and sporadic shelling and firing, we’re glad to see that the levels of violence generally appear to have gone significantly down. We urge both military factions to fully uphold the ceasefire and to further extend it. We’ve said this many, many times that the violence is simply unconscionable, and it must stop. We’ve got to do what’s right for the Sudanese people. They want a return to peace and security in Khartoum and around the country, and they want to see a transition to civilian authority. And we need to keep working at that,” Kirby said.
Roughly 459 people have been killed in the fighting, many of whom were innocent civilians, while more than 4,000 people have been wounded as of Monday, according to figures from the Sudanese Health Ministry referenced by the United Nations.
The deteriorating security situation in Khartoum prompted the U.S. and other Western countries to evacuate their embassy personnel.
On Saturday evening, three U.S. Army MH-47 Chinook twin-rotor, heavy-lift helicopters touched down outside the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum, where special operation commandos shepherded about 100 American diplomats and their families. The military deployed additional capabilities to the region in the days before the evacuation was conducted, and they remain there looking for ways to improve safety on the 500-mile land route to Port Sudan. The Navy has three warships deployed off Sudan’s coast, as well.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
President Joe Biden has asked for “every conceivable option” to help Americans who are there, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said earlier this week, even though Kirby said Americans “should have no expectation of a U.S. government-coordinated evacuation at the time” on Friday, adding that he expects this is “going to remain the case.”
There are roughly 16,000 Americans in Sudan, many of whom are dual citizens, though the Biden administration has warned that this number is inexact.