Sudan war: government says evacuation effort from warzone 'extremely successful', but UK mission not over yet

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has denied that the UK’s evacuation of diplomats delayed German rescue efforts.

Senior German political sources told the BBC that British attempts to evacuate its embassy staff from Sudan over the weekend delayed efforts by other countries to rescue their own citizens. They alleged that British forces landed in the war-torn country without the Sudanese army’s permission - jeopardising other countries’ evacuation efforts.

But Cleverly insisted to the Today programme that the UK had been granted permission for those flights. He did add however that “obviously we see a situation in Sudan where communications are often disrupted, so I will of course look at the circumstances of that.”

A UK defence source also rubbished the claims, saying: “It is complete nonsense to claim that we landed in Sudan without permission from the Sudanese army. We had permission.”

It is looking increasingly likely the conflict in Sudan will turn into a civil war, University of Birmingham experts say, as fighting which started in the capital of Khartoum spreads to other parts of Sudan.

Both parties have reportedly mobilised forces in the Darfur region in western Sudan, and residents told the Associated Press dozens have been killed - even with a supposed ceasefire ongoing.

The new clashes targeted civilians in the capital city of Genena, residents say, an area regularly roiled by outbursts of brutal tribal violence.

Locals described attacks by fighters, mostly wearing the uniforms of the country’s powerful paramilitary, on several neighbourhoods across the city early on Thursday, forcing many families to leave their homes.

“The attacks come from all directions,” said Amany, a Genena resident who withheld her surname for her safety.

“All are fleeing.”

The UK is “pushing hard” for an extension to the ceasefire in Sudan so it can keep evacuating British nationals, the Foreign Secretary says, as he made a direct appeal to generals on each side of the conflict.

James Cleverly said at the House of Commons on Thursday: “For either of the generals who might be watching this statement, that if they aspire to be the leader of Sudan, demonstrating a willingness to protect the people of Sudan would be a very important starting point.”

The UK will “endeavour to keep evacuating people” from the Wadi Saeedna airfield if the ceasefire does not hold after midnight on Thursday, he told MPs, but he could not guarantee its ability to do so.

James Cleverly said: “However, it is almost impossible for us to predict whether there will be an extension and what the circumstances might be like if the extension does not happen.

“We are exploring the support to other routes, which is why we have set up a temporary presence at Port Sudan and why we have officials at the border in the neighbouring countries.”

Two more flights have landed in Cyprus today, with more expected later in the evening as efforts to evacuate UK citizens from Sudan continue, Downing Street says

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “A further flight has landed today. It was six flights yesterday, two have landed today and there are more expected later today as well.”

It was “imperative” that anyone who wants to leave the country and is eligible to come to the UK does so as soon as possible, they added, with the ceasefire scheduled to end at roughly 11pm tonight, UK time.

A human rights lawyer on the Egyptian side of the Sudan-Egypt border warns of an impending humanitarian crisis, with as many as 10,000 people fleeing the conflict still waiting to cross.

More than 14,000 refugees have crossed into Egypt since the fighting began.

The lawyer - who does not want to be named for security reasons - told Al Jazeera there are currently 200 buses in line. He added that the Egyptian government was giving little assistance, making it difficult for those stuck at the border.

The lawyer said doctors and lawyers were working together to help those who had managed to get to Aswan, the largest city in southern Egypt – but they still feared a potential humanitarian crisis there.

A relative of a family of British nationals who fled the conflict and are currently waiting at the border told NationalWorld they have been sleeping on the floor of their bus, with no accommodation left in the city of Wadi Halfa.

They have received little guidance from the UK government he said, except to call the embassy in Cairo once they have crossed.

The Foreign Office says 897 people have been evacuated from Sudan on eight UK flights, as of 4pm on Thursday.

Further flights are still expected, with the government urging British nationals to make their way to the Wadi Saeedna airfield just out of Khartoum, while they still have the chance.

British ambassador to Sudan Giles Lever has travelled from London to Ethiopia to lead diplomatic efforts to end the fighting in Sudan, the Foreign Office says.

Lever, who was not in Sudan when the violence broke out, had been working in the crisis centre in London.

“Basing our ambassador in Addis Ababa allows for direct co-ordination with the African Union, which is based in the Ethiopian capital and is playing a key role in resolving the crisis in Sudan,” a Foreign Office spokesperson said.

The ceasefire in Sudan has been extended for a further three days.

The ceasefire has been agreed upon by both sides of the fight, with hope increasing that further evacuations would be facilitated in the coming days.

Good morning and welcome to NationalWorld's live coverage of the Sudan war. The morning updates:

Turkey’s defence ministry has said that a plane landing at Wadi Sadeena airstrip - the same one the UK has been using - was shot at. Reuters has reported there were no injuries.

This is after a new 72-hour ceasefire has been agreed. The Sudanese army blamed the RSF rebel group, commanded by General Dagalo. The RSF has denied this, saying in a statement: "Our forces have remained strictly committed to the humanitarian truce that we agreed upon since midnight, and it is not true that we targeted any aircraft in the sky of Wadi Sadeena in Omdurman."