Several countries
are moving
their citizens
and diplomatic staff out of Sudan
Violence there is escalating.
Overnight, American forces
extracted American diplomats
and their families.
A Defense Department official
says that fewer than 100 people
were pulled out of Sudan
in what he called
a fast and clean operation.
Their exit comes
after a week of heavy
fighting between rival military
And that was despite
what was meant to be a 72 hour t
Beginning Friday,
the world
Health Organization
reported on Friday
that 413 people had been killed.
Thousands injured
since fighting broke out.
And obviously this is also forci
to flee the country.
And information
coming out of the country
has been limited.
I mean, look, it's
it was a success, right, because
officials say
special operation forces,
they spent less than an hour
on the ground
to execute this evacuation
of about 100 people, U.S.
personnel and their families.
Can you talk to us about
what goes into executing
such an operation
and perhaps how difficult
it was to pull it off
Well, good morning, Amara.
Yeah. What this really tells you
is the State Department
and the Department of Defense
are talking with each other.
So it starts with good news, rig
It wouldn't have been as quick a
took about an hour
for the actual evacuation on the
But the preparation in advance o
that is quite considerable,
which means the State Department
is getting all
is getting all the resources
that they can together.
They're getting the personnel.
They're marshaling those folks
at a very specific location,
maybe a couple of locations
And then D.O.D.
is aware of all of that.
And then they execute from Djibo
And with the
as Sam Kiley described, as he un
the operation
they're clearly based on the kit
that they used,
helicopters, as well
as probably some C-130s.
There probably was some refueling
that needed to take place
based on the legs,
the distance from Djibouti to Kh
But this was incredibly well-pla
Our priority,
that's what happens with every e
There are these non-core
combatant evacuation operations.
In this particular case,
I'd suggest
this was permissive,
which means the government
at least stood aside.
The cartoon government as disrup
as it was.
So the U.S.
could get in and get out very qu
to do what we had to fight ready
and then fight their way out.
Right. Right.
And that's obviously why this was so fast a
as we heard from U.S. officials.
But to that point,
what kind of coordination
do you think there was
with the people there?
The military's on the ground,
and we're talking
about the Sudan's official army,
also military, but also
the the
stuff, the rapid support forces,
the claim was that they coordina
with the US on the evacuation.
But of course, you had
the State Department saying, act
no, that's not true at all.
Well, there had to be some effor
on the part of the United States
to ensure
that these combatants were separ
They probably agreed to the sepa
or at least
they pushed their operations awa
from where the U.S.
had declared they were going to
I mean, let's let's be frank, th
Sudan is already
in the midst of a civil war righ
we talk about the imminence
of a civil war.
This place has been a wreck
for years and it's falling apart
right in front of us.
So a good decision to get those
citizen,
those assets out
and their family members,
which in itself
can be incredibly chaotic.
What about the private US citize
It looks like for now, the U.S.
government is saying, look,
we can't do anything, sit tight,
shelter in place.
Do you envision any scenario
in which
the US will carry out a mass eva
for those American citizens?
I think the estimate was about 1
many of them being dual national
But do you see a situation where
would carry out an evacuation fo
private citizens
Yes, I do.
I mean, and
when you look at the numbers,
I mean, wow, they're incredibly
You know, you've got some estimates, as fe
and then you get 16,000.
But that's not unusual as well
because a lot of assets
just don't declare
when they get in the country
or as you describe, dual citizen
suddenly got a visa and now they
citizens. Great.
They are U.S.
citizens in all these
with all the standing,
all the privileges
that anybody would have.
And so there is an obligation
on the part of the government
to try to protect them.
So they've made the United State
government has made very clear
what they can and cannot do.
But the possibility exists
in those efforts would again
possibly require U.S.
military
and not just commercial departur
So it could be a mess moving for
This has to be such a chaotic si
for all the countries involved.
That are trying to get their cit
their personnel out.
Right.
Includes France and Spain and Tu
The list is much longer
than what I just mentioned.
But I understand that the Spanis
officials that they
have been working to get a quote
unquote landing slot.
And obviously,
you know, assurances
on the security situation
before they send an Airbus in.
But there is no functioning airp
right now, at least in Khartoum.
So can you talk us
through these logistics on on ho
these countries,
these foreign governments
are going to get their people ou
Well, what you what you've
described is the difference
between the United States
and many of our friends and part
with the scope of their capabili
We were able to enter into this
It probably wasn't acknowledged,
but we had the capability.
We understood
what the possibilities were in t
the aircraft capabilities
and the runway capabilities.
So the United States plans there
in great detail.
Special Operations Forces do thi
We're able to get in and make su
And it ended up being permissive
which is great.
But you're looking at a lot of n
that don't enjoy
that level of competency.
And so there will be great compe
the runway access and capabiliti
That's why nations have to coope
with each other.
And I'm certain,
as described earlier,
that there probably
were some other diplomats
that were a part of a U.S. evacu
Those were declared
and those were brought out.
Yeah. It's clearly
a race
against time
as the situation is deteriorate
Major General
James Spider Marks, appreciate
you joining us. Thank you.