The United States (US) has deployed a disaster response team to coordinate a humanitarian response in Sudan where fighting between the military and paramilitary troops shows no signs of slowing down, reported The BBC.
On Sunday, Samantha Power, the head of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), said that the experts would work with the international partners to identify priority needs and deliver assistance to the needy ones.
The US agency said that the disaster response team will be operating from Kenya in the initial phase of its operations.
Ms. Power stressed calls by the international community for a ceasefire and end to the ongoing fighting.
“The United States demands that the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces abide by the three-day Eid al-Fitr ceasefire to which they have agreed, end this reckless bloodshed, facilitate humanitarian access, comply with international humanitarian law,” she said.
More than 400 people have been killed and thousands have been injured since the fighting more than a week ago between the Sudanese military, headed by Lt Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF paramilitary group, headed by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. Both the Sudanese factions had announced a brief ceasefire but heavy artillery fire and air strikes continue across the country.
The US, the UK, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, and some other countries have successfully evacuated diplomats and citizens from Sudan as fierce fighting continues in Khartoum.
On Sunday, the US Special Forces launched a rescue mission for around 100 embassy staff and their relatives. They airlifted them using three Chinook helicopters. The US embassy in the Sudanese capital has now been closed.
In a letter to the Speaker of the House, President Joe Biden said that the forces will remain deployed in Djibouti to protect United States personnel and others until the security situation no longer requires their presence.
