Second US citizen killed in Sudan, White House says

'We urge both military factions to fully uphold this ceasefire and to further extend it,' official says

A fighter from the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces waves an assault rifle on April 23. AFP

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A second US citizen has been killed in Sudan, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday.

The State Department last week announced the death of an American who had been killed amid fighting between rival military groups in Sudan.

"We continue to make clear at the highest levels of the our government to the leadership of both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces that they are responsible for ensuring the protection of civilians and non-combatants, including people from third countries and humanitarian staff that are working to save lives," Mr Kirby told reporters.

He said President Joe Biden's administration was "glad to see" that violence had decreased in the embattled country since a US-brokered ceasefire, "although there are some reports of violence and sporadic shelling and firing".

"We urge both military factions to fully uphold this ceasefire and to further extend it," Mr Kirby said.

He said that despite suspending operations at the US embassy in Khartoum, "we've not dismantled our diplomatic relations or the mechanisms to conduct diplomatic relations with Sudan".

"We're simply moving the embassy personnel out of the country but we still have an ambassador to Sudan," Mr Kirby said.

"It's not unlike what we had to do with Ukraine."