US embassy staff evacuated from Sudan amid fierce fighting (Sky News). RSF says US diplomats, families evacuated via coordination with US forces (Reuters)

Report from Sky News

Sunday 23 April 2023 03:07, UK - full copy:

US embassy staff evacuated from Sudan amid fierce fighting

US troops have carried out an evacuation of American embassy staff from Sudan's capital Khartoum as fighting rages for a ninth day, according to a senior White House official.

View original: https://news.sky.com/story/us-embassy-staff-evacuated-from-sudan-amid-fierce-fighting-12863980

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Reuters report also here. 

Report from Haaretz.com 

By Reuters [unverified]

Sunday 23 April 2023 03AM - full copy:

Sudan’s RSF says US diplomats, families evacuated via coordination with US forces

CAIRO, April 23 (Reuters) - Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces said early on Sunday that a US forces mission consisting of six aircraft had evacuated US diplomats and their families from the country.

The operation was carried out through coordination with the RSF, it added.

(Reporting by Moaz-Alaziz and Mohamed Al Gebaly in Cairo; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

View original: https://www.msn.com/he-il/news/other/sudans-rsf-says-us-diplomats-families-evacuated-via-coordination-with-us-forces/ar-AA1acbfk 

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Report from CBS News

Story by Sophia Barkoff

Saturday 22 April 2023 8:52 PM - excerpts:

U.S. government personnel evacuated from Sudan

The details of the mission and the exact number of people evacuated was unclear. The Sudanese paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) tweeted that the US military used six plained to conduct the evacuations early Sunday morning. It was unconfirmed if diplomats from other nations were included. [...]

A U.S. diplomatic convoy flying the American flag was fired upon Monday while security attempted to bring Americans back to the compound. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called it a “reckless” and “irresponsible” act, and said that forces aligned with RSF  - a paramilitary group led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo - had likely taken the shots. […]

Full story: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/us-government-personnel-in-sudan-to-be-evacuated-sources-say/ar-AA1acfUV

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Report from Aljazeera.com

Sunday 23 April 2023 - excerpt:

US diplomats, families evacuated from war-torn Sudan, RSF says

Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces claims that it coordinated the evacuation with US forces on Sunday. [...]

A US official confirmed to the Associated Press that US forces safely left Sudanese airspace after airlifting the embassy personnel out of the capital, Khartoum.

Full story: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/23/sudans-rsf-says-us-diplomats-families-evacuated-from-country

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UPDATE: 

SUNDAY 23 APRIL 2023 04:15 GMT UK 

REPORT FROM THE BBC HAS UPDATED ITS REPORT TO SAY:

The US military has evacuated American diplomats and their families from Khartoum, President Joe Biden has said.

"Today, on my orders, the United States military conducted an operation to extract US government personnel from Khartoum," he said in a statement.

Earlier Sudan's paramilitary army Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said six aircraft were used in Sunday's early morning mission, and that it had co-ordinated the evacuation with the US.

President Biden has not given details.

It is not clear how many people were airlifted. Mr Biden's statement said "we are temporarily suspending operations at the US embassy in Sudan".

He also thanked Djibouti, Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia, saying they had been "critical to the success of our operation".

View original: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-65363586

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At least 35 people killed in clashes in Sudan’s Darfur in Jebel Moon mountains close to the Chad border

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: The following copy of a report originally written by Agence France-Presse (AFP) and published by Al Jazeera.com is from a reprint at MSN.com powered by Microsoft. I am copying the reprint here incase Al Jazeera deletes or moves any of its reports on Sudan. Note that MSN's version has a copyright symbol and a credit to Aljazeera.

Also, note that the version at Aljazeera.com (see link below) contains a 28 minute video by 'Aljazeera Human Rights Production' entitled 'Rights Denied' and is not included in MSN's reprint. Aljazeera's version of AFP's report contains three hyperlinks leading to three separate reports by Aljazeera that are not included MSN's reprint. I have underlined, using blue, to show where Aljazeera added three hyperlinks in its version of AFP's report.

Clearly, Aljazeera has embellished AFP's report and the embellishments are not included in MSN's reprint together with Aljazeera's subheading which I have added below in italics and used yellow to highlight it and the 'KEEP READING' and three reports added by Aljazeera to its version of AFP's report. 

The photo and caption has been added by Aljazeera but does not indicate where or when the photo was taken. It could be an old photo from The Associated Press (AP).  

Here is the copy of a report at and by Al Jazeera.com, reprinted by MSN.com powered by Microsoft

Publication date on both reports is Thursday 25 November 2021

Title: Dozens killed in clashes in Sudan’s restive Darfur

At least 35 people have been killed in days of fighting between herders in Sudan’s western Darfur region with more than a thousand homes set on fire, officials have said

© Provided by Al Jazeera  While the main conflict in Darfur has subsided, with a peace deal struck with key rebel groups last year, the arid region has remained awash with weapons and violence often erupts over land, access to agriculture or water [File: Mustafa Younes/AP]

The violence broke out on November 17 between armed Arab herders in the rugged Jebel Moon mountains close to the border with Chad, said Omar Abdelkarim, Sudan’s Humanitarian Aid Commissioner in West Darfur state on Thursday.

“The clashes left more than 35 people dead on both sides,” he told the AFP news agency. “Around 16 villages have been completely burned down”.

West Darfur governor Khamis Abdallah said the violence was sparked by “a dispute over camel looting”, and that “military reinforcements have been sent to the area and the situation has stabilised”.

Some people have fled west seeking safety across the border to Chad, he added.

Darfur was ravaged by a civil war that erupted in 2003, that pitted ethnic minority rebels complaining of discrimination against the Arab-dominated government of Omar al-Bashir.

More than 300,000 people died and 2.5 million were displaced, according to the United Nations.

Al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court to face charges of genocide in Darfur, was deposed and jailed in April 2019 following mass protests against his 30-year rule.

While the main conflict in Darfur has subsided, with a peace deal struck with key rebel groups last year, the arid region has remained awash with weapons and violence often erupts over land, access to agriculture or water.

A United Nations peacekeeping mission ended in Darfur last year.

The latest clashes come against a backdrop of political turbulence, as Sudan reels from the aftermath of a military coup last month that drew wide international condemnation and sparked mass protests.

On October 25, top General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan overthrew the country’s post-al-Bashir transitional government and detained the civilian leadership.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was freed from effective house arrest and reinstated, after signing a deal with al-Burhan that was viewed by critics as “whitewashing” the coup.

View reprint: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/dozens-killed-in-clashes-in-sudan-e2-80-99s-restive-darfur/ar-AAR7RRV

View Alazjeera's version of AFP's report and a 28 minute video by 'Aljazeera Human Rights Production' entitled 'Rights Denied' here: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/11/25/dozens-killed-in-clashes-in-sudans-restive-darfur - Officials say the dispute between Arab herdsmen was sparked by a 'dispute over camel looting'.

KEEP READING

West Darfur still needs humanitarian help

’The revolution was hijacked’: Inside the conflict in Darfur

South Darfur: 36 killed, dozens wounded in tribal clashes

Sudan's military has released Al Jazeera's journalist - Sudan remains under internet blackout

🇸🇩 Following global pressure, #Sudan's military has released Al Jazeera's journalist in Khartoum, but the country remains under an internet blackout as the army continues cracking down on anti-coup protesters. 👇 https://t.co/TfyBXvlrAR

— Doha News (@dohanews) November 16, 2021

Al Jazeera says its chief in Sudan taken to prison

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor:  This site, hosted by Google, has been inaccessible intermittently since last Friday. Here below are the messages on three error pages I saw while trying to visit the site. The site's statistics show that it has not received any visitors located in Sudan since the coup.

Also, here below is a report saying Sudanese security forces went to the home of Sudanese national Al-Musalami al-Kabbashi, the bureau chief of Qatari-based Al Jazeera TV, last Sunday (14 Nov) where they arrested him and took him to prison, the latest in hundreds of arrests since a military coup three weeks ago. The report says Al Jazeera has given prominent coverage to the recent protests (8 were killed last weekend bringing the total to 23) and aired a detailed interview with the coup leader Gen. Al-Burhan.

Here is a link to a 25-minute interview by Talk To Al Jazeera aired on 9 Nov 2021 entitled Al-Burhan: 'I will have no political role' after power handover:  https://www.aljazeera.com/program/talk-to-al-jazeera/2021/11/9/burhan-i-will-have-no-political-role-after-power-handover

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Sudan Watch on November 12, 13, 14

This site can’t be reached

The web page at https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/ might be temporarily down or it may have moved permanently to a new web address.

ERR_QUIC_PROTOCOL_ERROR

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This site can’t provide a secure connection

sudanwatch.blogspot.com uses an unsupported protocol.

ERR_SSL_VERSION_OR_CIPHER_MISMATCH

Hide details

Unsupported protocol

The client and server don't support a common SSL protocol version or cipher suite.

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http://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/

not secure

Warning: you could be getting scammed!

Suspected unsafe site: URL of website

This website could be trying to steal your information, install a virus or gain access to your device.

What to do next

We recommend you don't visit the website. If you've been directed to this page by an unexpected caller, it is almost certainly a scam. Please hang up and report the call on www.bt.com/scams.

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Here is a copy of a news report by Agence France-Press (AFP)

Dated Monday, 15 November 2021, 7:11 pm·

Al Jazeera says its chief in Sudan taken to prison

Sudanese security forces have taken the bureau chief of Qatari-based Al Jazeera TV to prison even though the prosecution ordered him freed, the broadcaster said Monday.

Al Jazeera journalist Al-Musalami al-Kabbashi, a Sudanese national, was arrested from his home on Sunday, the latest in hundreds of arrests since a military coup three weeks ago.

Sudan's top general Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on October 25 declared a state of emergency, ousted the government and detained the civilian leadership.

The army's power grab has derailed a transition to full civilian rule, sparked international condemnation and provoked regular protests.

Burhan insists the military's move on October 25 "was not a coup" but a push to "rectify the course of the transition".

Al Jazeera, which said it "holds the Sudanese military authority responsible for the safety of all its employees", denounced the detention of Kabbashi, saying that "the prosecution had ordered his release".

Al Jazeera has given prominent coverage to the recent demonstrations, but has also aired a detailed interview with Burhan.

Other media outlets besides Al Jazeera have also been targeted. Before the coup, Sudan was already ranked 159 out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index by the NGO Reporters Without Borders.

It's not the first time judicial decisions have been disregarded by the coup authorities.

Sudan has continued to remain largely offline even after a court ruled last week that internet services be restored. Judges also ordered the release of detainees arrested during nationwide anti-coup rallies on Saturday but "police took them to an unknown location," a lawyer, Enaam Attik, told AFP.

Earlier on Monday, medics said the death toll from the weekend protests had risen to eight, bringing the total number killed since last month's military takeover to 23.

The union named all eight people killed, including a 13-year-old girl who it said had suffered "a shot to the head outside her home".

US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee is in Sudan until Tuesday seeking "release from detention of Sudanese political and civilian leaders, the return of Prime Minister Hamdok to office, and the restoration of a civilian-led transitional government."

Sudan has a long history of military coups, enjoying only rare interludes of democratic rule since independence in 1956.

bur/sbh/pjm/it

View original: https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/al-jazeera-says-chief-sudan-191153317.html