US President Joe Biden announced late Saturday that US forces carried out a mission to evacuate US embassy staff from Khartoum , calling for an end to the fighting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces.

′′ Today, on my orders, US forces carried out an operation to remove government employees from Khartoum, Biden said in a statement.

Biden expressed his thanks for the "extraordinary skill of our soldiers who carried them to safety," adding that Djibouti, Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia had helped in the process.

As the fighting entered its second week, Biden urged an "immediate and unconditional ceasefire," "unhindered humanitarian access," and respect for "the will of the people of Sudan."

In a separate statement, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said he had ordered the evacuation of US embassy staff in Khartoum and their families due to "terrible and growing security risks" amid fighting that has so far claimed hundreds of lives, in addition to thousands of wounded.

"We remind both warring parties of their obligations under international humanitarian law, including those relating to the protection of civilians," Blinken said, repeating his earlier calls for an extension of the ceasefire reached during the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

US Lieutenant General Douglas Sims told reporters that more than 100 US special operations personnel took part in the evacuation, which was attended by three CH-47 Chinook helicopters, which flew from Djibouti to Ethiopia and then to Sudan.

Under Secretary of State John Bass indicated that less than 100 people have been evacuated, including some foreign diplomats, and that it is unlikely that there will be a concerted effort by the US government to evacuate US citizens from Sudan in the coming days.

The Rapid Support Forces wrote on Twitter that, "at dawn today, Sunday, in coordination with the US forces' mission consisting of 6 planes for the purpose of evacuating diplomats and their families, they supervised the necessary arrangements that preceded the evacuation."

However, Bass confirmed that the operation was "conducted by the US Department of Defense alone," noting that the Rapid Support Forces "cooperated to the extent of not firing at our members."

Since its outbreak on April 15, battles between the army, led by Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, led by Lieutenant General Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo, known as "Hamidti", have caused hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries.

The two former allies seized all power in a coup in 2021, removing the civilians who shared power with them. However, the differences and the struggle for power soon began between them, although they remained latent in the first period.