U.S. reportedly positions troops for possible Sudan embassy evacuation

The Pentagon is putting military forces in place in Djibouti to be ready to evacuate staff from the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum as fighting intensifies in Sudan's capital, multiple news outlets reported Thursday. At least one of the estimated 19,000 U.S. citizens in Sudan has died in the conflict as army forces led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, the African nation's de facto leader, fight the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group headed by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dalago. Intense fighting in Khartoum has left much of the city's population of five million stranded, including embassy staff now sheltering in place at the U.S. compound. Sporadic fighting continued during a brief cease-fire this week, but some civilians managed to flee the city.