Sudan rivals pledge evacuation help, US diplomats airlifted

American embassy staffers were airlifted from Sudan early on Sunday, as forces loyal to rival generals battled for control of Africa's third-largest nation for a ninth day amid fading hopes for deescalation.

The warring sides said they were helping coordinate the evacuation of foreigners, though continued exchanges of fire in Sudan's capital undermined those claims.

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A senior Biden administration official said US troops are carrying out the precarious evacuation of US Embassy staffers. The troops who airlifted the staff out of Khartoum have safely left Sudanese airspace, a second US official confirmed.

The Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group, which has been battling the Sudanese army, said the US rescue mission involved six aircraft and that it had coordinated evacuation efforts with the US.

People flee street battles between two rival Sudanese generals on the back of a truck in Khartoum. File/AFP

But the US denied the group did anything to help the evacuation.

"You may have seen some assertions in social media in recent hours, that the Rapid Security Forces somehow coordinated with us and supported this operation. That was not the case,” said Under Secretary of State for Management John Bass. "They cooperated to the extent that they did not fire on our service members in the course of the operation.”

The RSF, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamad Dagolo, said it is cooperating with all diplomatic missions and that it is committed to a three-day cease-fire that was declared at sundown on Friday.

Earlier, army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan said he would facilitate the evacuation of American, British, Chinese and French citizens and diplomats from Sudan after speaking with the leaders of several countries that had requested help.

Associated Press