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US Ready to Evacuate Embassy in Khartoum if Necessary

People gather at the station to flee from Khartoum during clashes between the Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum, Sudan April 19, 2023. REUTERS/El-Tayeb Siddig
People gather at the station to flee from Khartoum during clashes between the Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum, Sudan April 19, 2023. REUTERS/El-Tayeb Siddig
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US Ready to Evacuate Embassy in Khartoum if Necessary

People gather at the station to flee from Khartoum during clashes between the Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum, Sudan April 19, 2023. REUTERS/El-Tayeb Siddig
People gather at the station to flee from Khartoum during clashes between the Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum, Sudan April 19, 2023. REUTERS/El-Tayeb Siddig

The US is preparing to send a large number of additional troops to its base in Djibouti in case of an eventual evacuation from Sudan, US officials said on Thursday.

“The US Africa Command is monitoring the situation in Sudan and conducting prudent planning for various contingencies,” said Lt. Col. Phil Ventura, a Defense Department spokesman.

“As part of this, we are deploying additional capabilities nearby in the region for contingency purposes related to securing and potentially facilitating the departure of US Embassy personnel from Sudan, if circumstances require it,” said Ventura.

Wendy Sherman, the deputy secretary of State, privately told lawmakers Wednesday that troops would be moving to Djibouti, home to Camp Lemmonier, to provide the administration an option to launch an evacuation operation, according to one of the people familiar with the situation.

She made clear that they are not about to evacuate American citizens.

Meanwhile, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee said Wednesday the situation on the ground in Sudan remained too volatile to get diplomatic staff from the US Embassy in Khartoum out of the country.

She said that the State Department would do a drawdown if they could, but with ongoing fighting and the airport closed and partially damaged, it was not currently an option.

There are roughly 70 American staffers at the Khartoum embassy, according to congressional aides. They have no options to leave Sudan on their own without immense risk to their safety.

Since fierce hostilities between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group have erupted last weekend, the US has been contemplating the evacuation of government employees and has been transporting them from their homes to a secure, centralized location to prepare for such an eventuality.

Many roads were cut off in the capital, Khartoum, where seven million people are held hostage by the fighting. The violent clashes in Sudan also shut down the Khartoum Airport and damaged the aircraft.

There is concern in the US administration as the American embassy staff are currently sheltering at the US compound about eight miles from the international airport.

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Arab World

Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
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Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

At least two people were killed and four rescued from the rubble of a multistory apartment building that collapsed Sunday in the city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon, state media reported.

Rescue teams were continuing to dig through the rubble. It was not immediately clear how many people were in the building when it fell.

The bodies pulled out were of a child and a woman, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Dozens of people crowded around the site of the crater left by the collapsed building, with some shooting in the air.

The building was in the neighborhood of Bab Tabbaneh, one of the poorest areas in Lebanon’s second largest city, where residents have long complained of government neglect and shoddy infrastructure. Building collapses are not uncommon in Tripoli due to poor building standards, according to The AP news.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry announced that those injured in the collapse would receive treatment at the state’s expense.

The national syndicate for property owners in a statement called the collapse the result of “blatant negligence and shortcomings of the Lebanese state toward the safety of citizens and their housing security,” and said it is “not an isolated incident.”

The syndicate called for the government to launch a comprehensive national survey of buildings at risk of collapse.

Arab World

Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
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Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)

Israel's security cabinet approved a series of steps on Sunday that would make it easier for settlers in the occupied West Bank to buy land while granting Israeli authorities more enforcement powers over Palestinians, Israeli media reported.

The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA).

Citing statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz, Israeli news sites Ynet and Haaretz said the measures included scrapping decades-old regulations that prevent Jewish private citizens buying land in the West Bank, The AP news reported.

They were also reported to include allowing Israeli authorities to administer some religious sites, and expand supervision and enforcement in areas under PA administration in matters of environmental hazards, water offences and damage to archaeological sites.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the new measures were dangerous, illegal and tantamount to de-facto annexation.

The Israeli ministers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The new measures come three days before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet in Washington with US President Donald Trump.

Trump has ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank but his administration has not sought to curb Israel's accelerated settlement building, which the Palestinians say denies them a potential state by eating away at its territory.

Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.

His ruling coalition includes many pro-settler members who want Israel to annex the West Bank, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war to which Israel cites biblical and historical ties.

The United Nations' highest court said in a non-binding advisory opinion in 2024 that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there is illegal and should be ended as soon as possible. Israel disputes this view.

Arab World

Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit strongly condemned the attack by the Rapid Support Forces on humanitarian aid convoys and relief workers in North Kordofan State, Sudan.

In a statement reported by SPA, secretary-general's spokesperson Jamal Rushdi quoted Aboul Gheit as saying the attack constitutes a war crime under international humanitarian law, which prohibits the deliberate targeting of civilians and depriving them of their means of survival.

Aboul Gheit stressed the need to hold those responsible accountable, end impunity, and ensure the full protection of civilians, humanitarian workers, and relief facilities in Sudan.