The spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, Hala Ghareeb, revealed in exclusive statements to "Sky News Arabia" the country's efforts to evacuate its nationals from Sudan, coinciding with the announcement of a 72-hour truce between the conflicting parties.

This comes at a time when the Sudanese army announced on Saturday "its approval to provide necessary assistance to secure the evacuation of nationals of several countries and their diplomatic missions from the country," following the ongoing clashes between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, which resulted in 413 deaths including at least 5 relief workers, in addition to injuring 3551 others.

Ghareeb pointed to Washington's position regarding the evacuation plan in several points, including:

This reckless ongoing fighting between the two sides threatens the safety and security of Sudanese civilians and diplomats, including American employees and humanitarian aid workers and must stop immediately because no one will benefit from this violence and it is not in the interest of Sudan or the region.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been in contact with Generals Burhan and Hemedti, urging both sides to commit to a ceasefire, and welcomed the announcement of a commitment to a ceasefire for three days during the Eid al-Fitr period.

Everyone’s priority should be to put an end to the suffering of civilians, so Secretary Blinken renewed his call for both sides to stop fighting; there is no military solution to the political crisis in Sudan.

For American citizens, the U.S. Department of State has updated the travel advisories for Sudan.

We strongly urge American citizens to stay inside buildings and take shelter in a safe place until further notice, and we are in communication with the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum to ensure the safety of our staff and any other American citizens.

We are consulting very closely with regional and international partners about the situation in Sudan, and we call on all concerned parties to abandon violence, return to negotiations, and take effective steps to reduce tensions and ensure the safety of all civilians, U.N. staff, international organizations, other diplomatic staff, and humanitarian aid workers.

Sanctions Position

Foreign Policy magazine quoted U.S. officials saying that the U.S. administration is considering plans to impose new sanctions on the competing military forces in Sudan.

The sanctions package, still in formulation, aims to target leaders in the Sudanese army and Rapid Support Forces, which have brought Khartoum into a state of conflict.

Commenting on the sanctions stance, the U.S. State Department spokeswoman said in her statements to Sky News Arabia, "Our priority today is a lasting ceasefire and stopping the fighting."

She added: "Yes, we have different tools, but the most important thing to stop this violence now is to reach a permanent truce, and we are focusing on this point."