Washington, US

The United States is getting ready to send a large number of troops to its military base in Djibouti, a tiny country in the Horn of Africa with just one million inhabitants.

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In 2014, the US signed a 10-year lease for the base, including a yearly payment of $63 million

After last week's violent power struggle between the Sudanese army and paramilitary forces, as per the World Health Organization over 400 are killed and 3,500 injured. United Nations has termed the violence in Sudan as a humanitarian crisis.

As the situation continues to remain volatile in the African nation, the US is pre-positioning its soldiers to evacuate its embassy staff from Sudan. 

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“We are deploying additional capabilities nearby in the region for contingency purposes related to securing and potentially facilitating the departure of US embassy personnel from Sudan, if circumstances require it,” the Pentagon said in a statement on Thursday.

The US's activities in Africa and the Middle East have grown crucially dependent on Djibouti. US President Joe Biden ordered the pre-positioning of armed personnel to be prepared, according to White House spokesperson John Kirby.

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Kirby also indicated he was carefully monitoring events in Sudan. Up until now, there are no signs that Americans are being targeted, Kirby said during a briefing. But he continued to maintain that it was a dangerous place right now and not safe. 

He said, "The best thing that can happen is for the two sides to put down their weapons, uphold a ceasefire, and allow aid to reach the people in Khartoum."

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US residents in Sudan were earlier advised to remain indoors by the State Department. There is no data released about the number of US citizens visiting or residing in Sudan. The US embassy in Khartoum also released a statement on Thursday stating that "it is not currently safe to undertake a US government-coordinated evacuation of private US citizens" due to the security situation and shutdown of the airport.

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India has also issued at least three advisories to its citizens stranded in Sudan. As per reports, nearly 3000 Indians are presently stuck in the African nation. Unfortunately, one Indian died in the violence that broke out between the rival factions, RSF and the Sudanese army.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also chaired a high-level meeting on Friday to take stock of the situation. The meeting saw the presence of senior ministers.

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