A number of countries directly devoted resources to transporting American citizens safely out of Sudan as the country descended into civil war before the Biden administration took action this weekend.
The State Department announced Sunday that a convoy carrying two to three hundred people, including American citizens and permanent residents, was facilitated by the U.S. government and traveled more than 500 miles to safety in Port Sudan. It was the first U.S. government-run evacuation of Americans since Sudan devolved into civil war in April, but other countries had begun evacuating their own citizens while taking some Americans out with them far sooner.
The U.S. military evacuated all U.S. government personnel from Sudan. But that left some 16,000 Americans with few clear means of escape, FP’s @RobbieGramer and @JackDetsch report.https://t.co/LLiAfeaxXB
— Foreign Policy (@ForeignPolicy) May 1, 2023
The U.S. has now managed three convoys to get Americans out of the country, transporting roughly 700 people in the past three days, the State Department said Monday. But about 1,000 additional Americans had already gotten out without direct U.S. transport, either on their own or with the help of other countries.
The main two routes out of the country have been overland routes to Port Sudan, or British-run airlifts out of Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, The New York Times reported. Some number of Americans have been taken out on those British airlifts, although the Biden administration has not been able to provide estimates.
Some convoys have been led by international organizations, like the United Nations. One such convoy last week carried dozens of American citizens out. Some Americans have also reportedly made their way across land borders with neighboring countries like Chad on their own, The New York Times reported. (RELATED: Second American Killed In Sudan After Biden Admin Doesn’t Evacuate Civilians)
Other countries have also airlifted out Americans. France has taken hundreds of civilians out of the country from at least 36 countries, including some Americans, and the United Arab Emirates also got some Americans out of the country, the AP reported. Saudi Arabia has also evacuated thousands of people from more than 100 different countries, and is assisting American evacuees in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Italy, the Netherlands and Canada, are also among the countries who airlifted foreigners out of Sudan, but the State Department has not confirmed if those groups included American citizens or not.