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

Officials monitoring evacuee arrivals say that more than 1,500 people have been rescued by the RAF from Sudan, the Guardian reports. It says 850 of those have been flown on the UK, and the rest remain in Cyprus.

Four flights are expected to leave Khartoum today, with three going on to Stansted, the paper reports. “The first in is expected at 1.20pm and the first out at 12.30pm but delays are definitely expected,” one official told the Guardian.

Heavy explosions and gunfire have rocked parts of Sudan’s capital Khartoum and its twin city of Omdurman, residents said.

The reported fighting comes despite a fragile truce between the county’s two top generals, whose power struggle has killed hundreds, being extended.

Gunfire erupted hours after both sides accepted a 72-hour extension of the ceasefire, apparently to allow foreign governments to complete the evacuation of their citizens from the chaos-stricken African nation.

Multiple short truces have not stopped the fighting but they did create enough of a lull for tens of thousands of Sudanese to flee to safer areas and for foreign nations to evacuate thousands of their citizens by land, air and sea.

Residents reported fierce clashes in Khartoum’s upscale neighbourhood of Kafouri, where the military earlier used jets to bomb its rivals, RSF, in the area.

Clashes were also reported around the military’s headquarters, the Republican Palace and the area close to the Khartoum international airport.

All these areas have been flashpoints since the war between the military and the RSF erupted on April 15.

“Heavy explosions and constant gunfire are heard across Kafouri streets,” said Abdalla, a Kafouri resident who asked to be identified only by his first name for his safety.

Labour is pushing for the eligibility for those evacuated from Sudan by the UK government to be widened, before it is "too late".

Downing Street has so far rejected calls to broaden eligibility for evacuation beyond British passport holders and their immediate family.

But concerns have been raised that the current approach could see families split up or some members left behind, and the BBC reported at least 24 NHS doctors with residency or work permits, and jobs in UK hospitals, were not eligible for evacuation. Labour is calling on ministers to use the longer ceasefire window to rectify this.

Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “It cannot be right that NHS doctors and other British residents who worked to protect us throughout the pandemic are being denied the chance to evacuate from the conflict gripping Sudan.

“At the same time, British nationals remain stuck as the government refuses to evacuate their dependent, immediate family members.”

Lammy said the three-day extension to the ceasefire offered an opportunity to get more people to safety, while the airlift was ongoing and there was capacity.

“All British nationals, close, dependent relatives of British nationals who are stuck and British residents seeking to flee Sudan should qualify to board evacuation flights. The government must act before the ceasefire ends and it is too late.”

Reports are emerging of scams and people looking to exploit desperate families trying to escape the conflict in Sudan to neighbouring countries like Egypt, with jacked up prices.

One family of British nationals who fled the conflict in Khartoum after not hearing from the UK government about evacuations have been waiting in the city of Wadi Halfa for two days now. They say they were told after leaving that no help was available from the government, for Britons outside of the capital.

Relative Sami Atabani told NationalWorld one transport company asked them to pay $30,000 USD to travel across the border to Aswan. They are now working to get a permit for the bus they have travelled from the capital on to cross the border, but they are "unlikely to be able to make it until Sunday".

A doctor from Khartoum told the Guardian some bus drivers were proving unreliable. “Some are scammers. They take money and never show up. Some ask for ridiculous amounts,” Afnan Hassab said. She managed to find a group that had hired a bus and had a spare seat, at a cost of 170,000 Sudanese pounds (£240). The bus will only take her to Wadi Halfa in north Sudan, where she will have to find further transportation to the border.

Sudan Red Crescent operations manager Mohamed El Amin Ibrahim said on Wednesday (26 April) bus tickets out of Khartoum now cost up to ten times as much as they used to, meaning most families could not afford them.

Many were also struggling to access money in their bank accounts, being forced to rely on mobile phone transfers.

The UK will end evacuation flights from Sudan by 6pm on Saturday, the Government says, more than a day before the ceasefire ends.

The Sudanese Army and the RSF agreed to extend the ceasefire another 72 hours last night after international pressure, to midnight Sunday local time.

Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said operations would cease following a “significant decline” in the number of British nationals seeking to flee the war-torn country.

More than 1,500 people have been evacuated from Sudan, the “vast majority” of whom are British nationals and eligible dependants, he said.

He denied that the Government will effectively “abandon” British citizens who have not been able to reach Wadi Saeedna airfield.

Asked whether Britain was leaving behind people struggling to get to the site or to coordinate with family members stuck in the country, he said: “I wouldn’t accept that characterisation. The first thing I would say is that every single British national that has come forward and their eligible dependants have been put safely on to a plane.

“We are seeing those numbers declining significantly and, just like other countries, as those numbers decline we have put an end date on this.”

He claimed “consular assistance” will remain available at exit routes after the end of evacuation flights.

A Government spokesman said: “We have made the decision to extend the evacuation criteria to include eligible non-British nationals in Sudan who are working as clinicians within the NHS and their dependents who have leave to enter the UK.

“We are able to offer this increased eligibility thanks to the efforts of the staff and military who have delivered this evacuation, the largest of any western country. We continue to work intensively, alongside international partners, to maintain the ceasefire and bring an end to fighting, the single most important thing we can do to ensure the safety of British nationals and others in Sudan.”

It comes after concerns were raised that the Government’s previous approach to evacuation could see families split up or some members left behind.

At least 1,888 people on 21 flights have been evacuated from Sudan – the vast majority of them British nationals and their dependents – but thousands more British citizens may remain.

Speaking to the BBC, Foreign Office minister Andrew Mitchell said the operation has been “extremely successful”, but stressed: “We can’t stay there forever in such dangerous circumstances.”

Fighting has broken out again in Khartoum despite the extension of an armistice between the country’s two warring generals having been brokered in the early hours of Friday.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said: “The UK has brought more than 1,888 people to safety from Sudan thanks to the efforts of staff and military working around the clock to deliver this evacuation – the largest of any western country.

“We continue to press all diplomatic levers to secure a long-term ceasefire and end the bloodshed in Sudan. Ultimately a stable transition to civilian rule is the best way to protect the security and prosperity of the Sudanese people.”

The flight will take place on Monday (1 May). It will fly from Port Sudan.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: “I am grateful to our armed forces who have ensured there was an alternative to Wadi Saeedna and who are currently supporting FCDO and Border Force staff to facilitate the rescue effort. HMS Lancaster and the RAF are also there in support of HMG.”

British nationals trying to flee Sudan have until noon to reach an airport to be processed for an additional UK flight out of the conflict zone. The UK is putting on one additional flight from Port Sudan - in the east of the country - with a deadline of midday local time (11am BST) for Britons to get there.

It is understood the flight from Port Sudan is exceptional and would repatriate a limited number of British nationals left in the country who wish to leave.