US evacuates more South Sudan embassy staff as fighting continues

The US has evacuated more diplomatic officials from its embassy in South Sudan, the State Department announced on Friday, blaming a “deteriorating security situation” for its decision to maintain only a skeletal staff in the country despite the imminent start of peace talks.

The US ambassador, Susan Page, is remaining in the capital Juba, but the military evacuated approximately 20 diplomats, staff and their families, in what the department described as a “further drawdown” in the US presence in the country.

The US military’s Africa Command facilitated the evacuation, sending two KC-130 cargo aircraft into Juba in a carefully planned operation to pick-up the diplomats. The planes had been positioned in Entebbe, Uganda, some 339 miles [546 kilometers] south, as a contingency.

Fighting in South Sudan, which began on December 15, has split the newly-formed country under broadly ethnic lines. South Sudan^[1]'s government has declared a state of emergency in Unity and Jonglei, two states whose capitals are under the control of rebels loyal to the former vice-president Riek Machar.

South Sudan’s president Salva Kiir's Dinkas has dispatched negotiators to undertake peace talks with rebel leaders in neighbouring Ethiopia, and there is a notional ceasefire. But there are reports that rebel groups are marching south toward Juba, setting up a possible confrontation with government forces.

“We are taking this step out of an abundance of caution to ensure the safety and security of our diplomatic personnel,” said Marie Harf, the department’s deputy spokeswoman. “As a result of this drawdown, the US embassy in Juba will not be able to provide consular services to US citizens in South Sudan.”

She added: “We continue to strongly recommend that US citizens in South Sudan depart immediately.”

A significant number of American citizens, including other diplomatic staff, have already left South Sudan. A Pentagon estimate from Monday placed the total evacuees at over 870.

Harf insisted the US was “deeply and actively” committed to ending the violence, despite the withdrawal. The US also announced an additional $49.8m of what it described as additional humanitarian assistance for the world’s newest state.

Page told Reuters: “We are not suspending our operations. We are just minimizing our presence.”

The US has been alert to the dangers to its personnel since four US military officers were injured during an aborted mission to evacuate Americans from Bor, the capital of Jonglei state, last month. US aircraft came under fire during the incident on December 21.

Tom Saunders, a spokesman for Africa Command, said a squad-sized “small security element” of a Marine air-ground task force, which operates the cargo planes, assisted in Friday’s evacuation. The task force had been deployed to Entebbe since December 24.

“One aircraft landed to pick up the evacuees, while the other loitered in the area, in case of maintenance issues with the first aircraft, or in case more seats were needed to evacuate personnel,” Saunders said.

Africa Command also said it will keep a number of soldiers, assigned to the East Africa Response Force, at the embassy in Juba to provide a security reinforcement for the facility’s remaining personnel.

It is not clear how many soldiers from the East Africa Response Force will remain at the embassy. Officials described their ability to secure it as indefinite.

"They have a ample logistics support to remain in place as long as they're needed," said Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Glen Roberts, a spokesman from the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, which oversees the force.

Earlier in the week, the Pentagon described the pre-positioning of Marines in Entebbe and a platoon-sized force from the East Africa Response Force in Juba, as a prudent move by General David Rodriguez, the officer in charge of Africa Command, given the uncertain situation in South Sudan.

“It’s a combatant commander positioning forces in such a way that he’s got options,” said Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, on Monday.

Harf said the secretary of state, John Kerry, had spoken with president Kiir about the ongoing crisis, and ambassador Donald Booth, a US special envoy to the country, is currently in Ethiopia facilitating the talks.

The warring factions held preliminary meetings at an Addis Ababa hotel on Friday. Dina Mufti, an official in Ethiopia's foreign ministry, said the encounters were intended to lay the groundwork for direct peace negotiations slated to begin Saturday.

References

1. ^{^} Sudan (www.theguardian.com)