UK says nearly 1,900 people airlifted out of Sudan

RAF flew 21 evacuation flights out of air base north of Khartoum

Military personnel unload stores during the evacuation of British citizens in Sudan. Photo: MoD

Follow the latest news from the Sudan crisis here

The UK said on Saturday it was preparing its final evacuation flight for British citizens from Sudan, with nearly 1,900 people airlifted out during fragile ceasefires.

But some of those fleeing the fighting, now in its third week, said they had been forced by the British government's rules to leave relatives behind.

The Royal Air Force flights began on Tuesday from the Wadi Saeedna airfield north of Khartoum, limited initially to UK passport holders and immediate relatives who have British residency.

But after strong criticism at home, the government late on Friday allowed Sudanese doctors working in Britain's National Health Service to join the flights.

Foreign Office minister Andrew Mitchell denied the government was abandoning anyone in Sudan, after it was accused by opposition parties of repeating the mistakes of its chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

“I don't think there's a single Brit in Khartoum who won't know about the evacuation and the flow of people who've been coming to the airport indicate that that is correct,” he told the BBC in Nairobi.

But Mr Mitchell added: “We can't stay there for ever in such dangerous circumstances.”

About 2,000 Britons in Sudan had signed on to a Foreign Office list, and anyone eligible was given until Saturday morning to reach the airfield for processing and boarding of the final flights.

A total of 1,888 have been taken out on 21 flights, including on the final one due to depart Wadi Saeedna later on Saturday, the Foreign Office said.

The eligibility criteria still left UK nationals with family in Sudan facing the choice of coming home or staying, despite the risks, if their relatives had no right of residency in Britain.

And more than 20 NHS medics from Sudan were initially told they could not board the flights because they were not British nationals, UK media reported.

The British government said it was maintaining consular support at exit routes to the north and south of Sudan, as well as at the eastern city of Port Sudan.

The airlifts began after Sudan's warring parties agreed an initial three-day US-brokered ceasefire, which was then formally extended, though fierce fighting has resumed.

“We continue to press all diplomatic levers to secure a long-term ceasefire and end the bloodshed in Sudan,” Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said on Saturday.

Many Britons and people of other nationalities were trapped in Sudan after heading back to visit family during Ramadan.

Thousands gathered in central London's Trafalgar Square to mark Eid Al Fitr. Performers at the gathering offered prayers for Sudan.

“We know there are many Londoners whose country of origin is Sudan, and there are many Londoners who are really worried about their families and friends stuck in Sudan,” London mayor Sadiq Khan said at the event.

“It's really important that the Foreign Office continues to help those Brits and Londoners who are stuck in Sudan.”