The commander of U.S. Central Command, Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, called the Royal Saudi Chief of General Staff Gen. Fayyadh Al Ruwaili to thank him and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for its support in evacuating American citizens from Sudan amidst the conflict there, as Saudi Arabia continues to aid foreign nations in evacuating civilians from the conflict.
The information about the call was published in a press release from CENTCOM.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Royal Saudi Armed Forces provide access, basing, and overflights, as well as resources to evacuate hundreds of American citizens. This support allowed the movement of these Americans from Sudan to safety in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia,” the release said.
“We are greatly appreciative of the remarkable effort of General Al Ruwaili, the Royal Saudi Armed Forces, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in evacuating hundreds of Americans to safety,” said Kurilla. “This rapid coordination was possible due to the firm U.S.-Saudi partnership, which dates back more than seven decades. We will continue to build on that partnership into the future.”
The CENTCOM release was published roughly a week after President Biden thanked Saudi Arabia for its role.
“I am grateful for the unmatched skill of our service members who successfully brought them to safety. And I thank Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Saudi Arabia, which were critical to the success of our operation,” President Biden said.
