Sudan smoke
© Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesFighting in Sudan
American killed in Sudan: State Department confirms US citizen is among the dead in brutal fighting as bodies line the streets.
  • An estimated 16,000 Americans are believed to be in Sudan
  • The State Department confirmed that a U.S. citizen had been killed in fighting
  • The Pentagon says it is working on options to evacuate diplomatic staff
At least one American has been killed during clashes between rival military factions in Sudan, the State Department said Friday, as the Pentagon prepares options for evacuating U.S. diplomatic staff.

The African nation has been rocked by violence during the past week as its two most senior generals vie for power.

map sudan
© Unknown
A State Department spokesperson, said:
"We can confirm the death of one U.S. citizen in Sudan. We are in touch with the family and offer our deepest condolences to them on their loss. Out of respect for the family during this difficult time, we have nothing further to add."
On Friday, Sudan's army said it had agreed to a three-day truce starting on Friday to enable people to celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr ending the holy month of Ramadan. That might allow a window for foreign nations to evacuate diplomats and their nationals.

A day earlier it emerged that additional U.S. troops were being sent to nearby Djibouti for any possible rescue of U.S. diplomats. It came soon after a U.S. diplomatic convoy came under fire, and three members of World Food Program staff were killed in the clashes.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the Pentagon was preparing options for any evacuation operation if the State Department needed assistance.
"We always want to make sure that we're doing prudent planning, which is what we're doing. We've deployed some forces to into theater to ensure that we provide as many options as possible if we are called on to do something and we haven't been called on to do anything yet. No decision on anything has been made."
guys on tank
© AFP/Getty Images
armed on street
© ReutersSudanese army forces march down street in Khartoum, North Sudan
The fighting pits army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against his former deputy Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the leader of a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces.

The World Health Organization said at least 413 people had died, but that number is likely to be an underestimate.

In the capital, residents said they had seen bodies lining the streets. Hadeel Mohamed, a resident of Khartoum's Al-Taif district, told ABC News:
"Dead bodies were lying all around the ground in a main street in Al-Taif and on the western road outside of Khartoum."
Fighting erupted after Burhan and Dagalo fell out over a recent internationally brokered deal with democracy activists that was meant to incorporate the RSF into the military and then lead to civilian rule.