US embassy in Khartoum shreds passports

Some people say they are now stuck in Sudan as fighting continues

The US embassy in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum in 2017. AFP

The American embassy in Khartoum destroyed an unspecified number of passports belonging to Sudanese citizens and people from other countries who had applied for US visas, the State Department said on Friday.

“Because the security environment did not allow us to safely return those passports, we followed our procedure to destroy them rather than leave them behind unsecured,” a State Department representative said in a statement.

“It is standard operating procedure during these types of situations to take precautions to not leave behind any documents, materials or information that could fall into the wrong hands and be misused.”

The move has drawn criticism, with some of those affected saying they are now stuck in a conflict zone with no way of leaving.

“Due to the war situation, my passport has been seized and destroyed, leaving me stranded in Sudan,” Twitter user Alhaj Sharaf said.

The State Department said it had provided those affected with “the best information available on how to obtain new passports or travel documents on the border with Egypt”.

“This is the only location within Sudan we are currently aware of, where the government of Sudan may be issuing new passports and travel documents,” the statement reads.

Selma Ali, an engineer, told The New York Times she had submitted her passport to the US embassy three days before fighting began.

“I’m so frustrated,” she said. “The US diplomats evacuated their own citizens but they didn’t think of the Sudanese. We are human, too.”

The newspaper reported that the decision to destroy passports was “gut wrenching” for US officials.

The State Department also came under criticism after the wholesale destruction of passports and other personal information at its embassy in Kabul during the final days of the US-led war in Afghanistan in 2021.