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Sudan: second RAF flight lands in Cyprus after Germany allows use of airfield Sudan: 200-300 British nationals evacuated amid criticism of UK response
(about 2 hours later)
Around 260 British nationals expected to have been flown out by Wednesday morning Ministers defend response to crisis as British armed forces take over running of airstrip from Germany
Two Royal Air Force evacuation flights carrying British nationals from Sudan have landed at Larnaca Airport in Cyprus, after Germany gave permission for the UK to fly from an airfield it has been controlling to coordinate its own rescue operations. More than 200 British nationals have been evacuated from Sudan, the home secretary, Suella Braverman, has said, after Germany granted permission to use an airstrip it has been controlling.
Families with young children were among those on the first flights that landed in Cyprus with a British man telling the BBC that his sister, who left Sudan overnight, felt an overwhelming sense of relief. The first charter flight back to London set to depart later on Wednesday. People have started arriving in Cyprus on RAF flights out of the north-east African country – the scene of increasingly bitter fighting.
Three planes were due to have left conflict-torn Khartoum for Cyprus by Wednesday morning, with prime minister Rishi Sunak pledging “many more” would follow as he warned of a “critical” 24 hours. About 1,000 British personnel have been mobilised to run the rescue operation and are to take control of the airstrip now that the German effort has been completed, the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, said.
About 260 people are thought to have been flown out overnight on three flights. The first which landed on Tuesday evening had about 40 people on board. The British government has been heavily criticised for initially only evacuating diplomats – only belatedly agreeing to help individual British nationals, claiming that the direct threat was to the former, and that a rescue would be difficult.
British nationals have been told to make their own way to the airstrip, with some fearing they will not make it due to a petrol shortage. Wallace indicated that Germany had now handed over the airstrip because Berlin had completed its rescue mission by Tuesday, with its foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, saying it would not leave its citizens “to their own devices” – an apparent swipe at the UK’s approach.
Defence secretary Ben Wallace said the UK would take charge of the Wadi Saeedna airstrip near the capital from German forces, after Berlin said its final evacuation flight left on Tuesday night. Braverman defended her government’s response to the crisis on Wednesday, insisting the government had been “closely monitoring the situation for weeks”.
He said 120 British troops have already been supporting the operation there. She said: “We commenced an evacuation mission in the last 24 to 48 hours and we expect there to be approximately 200 to 300 people who have been relocated from Sudan in the last few flights.
“The Germans are leaving tomorrow, and we will take over the facilitation at the airfield,” Wallace said. “We are now commencing an extensive operation, working with over 1,000 personnel from the RAF and the armed forces,” Braverman said, adding the government had had to cope with a “larger cohort of British nationals in Sudan compared to other countries”.
“And the reason the Germans are leaving is people have stopped coming in large numbers.” Families with young children were among those on the first flights that landed in Cyprus, with a British man telling the BBC his sister – who left Sudan overnight – felt an overwhelming sense of relief. The first charter flight back to London was due to depart later on Wednesday.
He said only one nation can facilitate the airfield at a time, adding: “If the Spanish or the Italians or anyone else wants to fly, we’ll be the ones giving permissions effectively.” Three planes were due to have left Khartoum for Cyprus by Wednesday morning, with the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, pledging “many more” would follow as he warned of a “critical” 24 hours.
There is “some risk that some of the planes are not full,” he said, as there are “not thousands at the gate” as in the evacuation from Afghanistan. British nationals have been told to make their own way to the Wadi Saeedna airstrip near the capital, with some fearing they will not make it due to a petrol shortage.
The Government is considering other options, including a possible seaborne evacuation from Port Sudan, 500 miles from the capital. HMS Lancaster and the RFA Cardigan Bay have been sent to the region. Wallace said 120 British troops were already supporting the operation there. “The Germans are leaving tomorrow, and we will take over the facilitation at the airfield. And the reason the Germans are leaving is people have stopped coming in large numbers.”
Announcing the completion of Germany’s evacuation efforts, the country’s foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said Berlin would not leave civilians “to their own devices.” He said only one nation could facilitate the airfield at a time, adding: “If the Spanish or the Italians or anyone else wants to fly, we’ll be the ones giving permissions, effectively.”
She said that “unlike in other countries”, Germany’s evacuation had included all its nationals and not just embassy staff, in an apparent swipe at the UK’s approach. There is “some risk that some of the planes are not full”, he said, as there are “not thousands at the gate” as in the evacuation from Afghanistan.
Sunak defended the UK’s efforts, saying it was “right” that diplomats were prioritised “because they were being targeted”. The government is considering other options, including a possible seaborne evacuation from Port Sudan, 500 miles from the capital. HMS Lancaster and the RFA Cardigan Bay have been sent to the region.
Announcing the completion of Germany’s evacuation efforts, Baerbock said Berlin would not leave civilians “to their own devices”.
She said that, “unlike in other countries”, Germany’s evacuation had included all its nationals and not just embassy staff, in an apparent swipe at the UK’s approach.
Sunak defended the UK’s efforts, saying it was right that diplomats were prioritised “because they were being targeted”.
“The security situation on the ground in Sudan is complicated, it is volatile and we wanted to make sure we could put in place processes that are going to work for people, that are going to be safe and effective,” the prime minister said at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office crisis centre.“The security situation on the ground in Sudan is complicated, it is volatile and we wanted to make sure we could put in place processes that are going to work for people, that are going to be safe and effective,” the prime minister said at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office crisis centre.
He told teams working on the evacuation efforts that “the next 24 hours are absolutely critical”.
The mission was launched during a ceasefire brokered between the warring factions. But foreign secretary James Cleverly warned the extraction of UK nationals is “inherently dangerous” as “we cannot be sure for how long it will hold”.
A UK-born student attempting to flee Sudan said she does not have enough petrol to make the dangerous one-hour drive from the outskirts of Khartoum to the airstrip.
“I’m trying to get there. But the problem is the vehicles that we have no gas, and the petrol stations are empty,” Samar Eltayeb, 20, from Birmingham, told the PA news agency.
“There’ll be constant flights within the next few days, but if I can’t find gas to get there, then I’m stuck.”
More than 2,000 British citizens have registered in Sudan with the FCDO. Families with children or elderly relatives, or individuals with medical conditions, will be prioritised for the flights.
Only British passport holders and immediate family members with existing UK entry clearance are being told they are eligible. Nationals have been warned all travel within Sudan is “conducted at your own risk”.