Britain announced on Tuesday that it had begun “a large-scale evacuation” of British residents trapped in Sudan, where ten days of urban fighting have resulted in hundreds of deaths.
It comes after accusations in the UK that the government had abandoned British nationals there and after a 72-hour ceasefire between Sudan’s warring generals that was mediated by the United States formally went into force. Following analogies to the haphazard evacuation of Britons after the Taliban in Afghanistan took control of Kabul in 2021, Britain came under pressure to take action.
”The government has begun a large-scale evacuation of British passport holders from Sudan on RAF (Royal Air Force) flights,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said.
“Priority will be given to the most vulnerable, including families with children and the elderly.”
Sunak paid tribute to Britain’s armed forces, diplomats and others involved in what he called a “complex operation”.
“The UK will continue to work to end the bloodshed in Sudan and support a democratic government,” he added.
As deadly clashes raged in the capital Khartoum on Sunday, Britain conducted a military operation to remove its diplomats.
But despite Western friends evacuating hundreds of their own passport holders, it has delayed removing its citizens more widely due to the hazards on the ground.
4,000 Britons with dual citizenship and 400 with UK-only passports, according to Foreign Office Minister Andrew Mitchell, are believed to be in Sudan, while 2,000 people have registered with the ministry in an effort to receive assistance leaving.
The UK military flights were scheduled to leave from an airfield outside of Khartoum, according to a Foreign Office statement announcing the new evacuations.
It said UK citizens should “not make their way to the airfield unless they are called”.
“The situation remains volatile and our ability to conduct evacuations could change at short notice,” it added.
