Stuck in Khartoum

The American Embassy in Sudan is closed. Fierce fighting between two warring generals led to the swift deterioration of conditions in the capital and the U.S. evacuated seventy-two American embassy staff, alongside six Canadian diplomats and a few others, by military air. Some days later a convoy of 300 private American citizens was organized. What happens when an embassy is evacuated? What happens to private Americans in-country?

The decision to close an embassy rises to the Secretary of State for approval. An embassy evacuation really is a virtual chess match that some State...