Soldiers have been positioned at a key US base in Djibouti, Camp Lemonnier, in anticipation of an evacuation mission for employees at the US Embassy in Khartoum, the Associated Press and Politico reported on Thursday, both citing unnamed officials. The embassy includes around 70 American staffers.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Pentagon said it had deployed additional “capabilities” in the region as part of “prudent planning for various contingencies,” but stopped short of confirming any upcoming operations, and did not specify where the troops would be stationed.
The United States is preparing to send a large number of additional troops to its military base in Djibouti in case of an eventual emergency evacuation from Sudan of American citizens.
ReplyDeleteForces commanded by two previously allied leaders of Sudan’s ruling council began a violent power struggle last weekend that has so far killed more than 330 people, tipping a nation reliant on food aid into what the United Nations calls a humanitarian catastrophe.