The United States to send a large number of troops to its military base in Djibouti

The United States is preparing to send a significant number of troops to its military base in Djibouti, a small country in the Horn of Africa with a population of one million. In 2014, the US signed a 10-year lease for the base, which includes an annual payment of $63 million.

Following a violent power struggle between the Sudanese army and paramilitary forces last week, over 400 people have been killed and 3,500 injured, and the United Nations has declared it a humanitarian crisis. As the situation remains volatile, the US is positioning its soldiers to evacuate embassy staff from Sudan.

The Pentagon released a statement on Thursday stating that “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.”

Djibouti has become a crucial base for the US’s activities in Africa and the Middle East, and President Joe Biden has ordered the pre-positioning of armed personnel to be prepared for any situation, according to White House spokesperson John Kirby. Kirby stated that he is carefully monitoring events in Sudan and that there are no signs that Americans are being targeted. However, he continued to maintain that it was a dangerous place right now and not safe.

The State Department advised US residents in Sudan to stay indoors, and the US embassy in Khartoum released a statement stating that it is not currently safe to undertake a US government-coordinated evacuation of private US citizens due to the security situation and the shutdown of the airport.

India has issued at least three advisories to its citizens stranded in Sudan, with nearly 3,000 Indians currently stuck in the African nation. Unfortunately, one Indian has died in the violence that broke out between the rival factions, RSF and the Sudanese army. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting on Friday to take stock of the situation, which included the presence of senior ministers.