What’s happening in Sudan, how many Americans live there and why is the embassy being evacuated?

President Joe Biden has announced that the government has evacuated all the personnel from the US embassy in Sudan as well as their families, amid violence that has killed hundreds and injured thousands of others.

In a statement, the President also said that the US was temporarily suspending operations at the embassy in Khartoum. He thanked the group of over 100 special operations forces who were involved in the extraction of diplomatic workers. The troops were on the ground for less than an hour to complete the evacuation.

What is happening in Sudan?

The call to conduct the evacuation of personnel numbering less than a hundred came after a week of intense fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. The conflict between the two rival factions began on April 8, after army general and de facto leader of Sudan Abdel Fattah al-Burhan scrapped a power-sharing council and said he planned to hold elections this year.

The US State Department announced that they cannot provide consular assistance to American citizens in the country due to the ongoing crisis which has posed great risk to embassy personnel. The travel advisory for Sudan is at Level 4: Do not travel.

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How many Americans live in Sudan?

There are American civilians who are still in Sudan, but the department said that there are currently no plans to coordinate an evacuation for all US citizens who remain. The President said that there are ongoing efforts to assist them, while the State Department says there are talks among government agencies to discuss how to help Americans who may wish to leave.

The State Department does not have an official tally of Americans who are abroad, although records indicate that there may be as many as 16,000 of them in Sudan. According to CBS News, officials say that number could be inflated.