(NewsNation) — About 1,000 U.S. citizens are on their way home this morning after being evacuated from Sudan as fighting continues in the country, particularly in the capital city of Khartoum, despite ceasefires being extended.
“The shaky truce has been extended. It has allowed for people to get out, as well as citizens of Sudan to be able to move a little bit more freely and stock up on resources,” Susan D. Page, the first U.S. ambassador to the Republic of South Sudan, told NewsNation’s Marni Hughes on “NewsNation Live.” “So that’s good news.”
Fighting happening in Sudan pits the army chief, Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, against Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces.
Page said it is unclear if either of the two generals will back down without an actual victory on the ground.
“Wars don’t usually make for easy peace,” she said. “That’s the terrifying part.”
Because Sudan is a very large country, bordering seven others, there is concern the violence could spread to these other areas the longer things go on, Page said.
“Obviously, the best thing diplomatically would be for a real truce to hold, and for long enough to make some real decisions on the ground by the people who really need to be part and parcel of all of the conversations going forward,” she added.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
