An American has died amid fighting in Sudan as the U.S. military repositions troops in the region, preparing for a possible evacuation of the embassy in Khartoum.
Sudan’s capital is under shelling as warring factions, led by two rival generals, vie for leadership of the country. A cease-fire for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, Friday night, has mostly been ignored.
The State Department announced the death Thursday and did not provide details on the person’s identity.
The Pentagon is “moving forward to pre-position some military forces and capabilities nearby just for contingency purposes in case they would be needed for any kind of evacuation,” White House spokesperson John Kirby said Thursday.
Forces have been prepped in Djibouti, a small country near Ethiopia.
“We want to make sure we’ve got the capability ready in case it’s needed,” Kirby said.
Americans in Sudan have been instructed to shelter in place, and a State Department spokesman said Thursday it is still too unsafe to evacuate Americans from the country.
The military is preparing in case the State Department decides to evacuate the embassy in Khartoum. Staff in the embassy now are not under threat, a State Department spokesman said.
The Sudanese Armed Forces, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, is vying for power against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces led by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
American leaders have been attempting to negotiate a cease-fire between the sides. A 24-hour ceasefire earlier this week was again mostly not effective.