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Sudan: 200-300 British nationals evacuated amid criticism of UK response Sudan: 200-300 British nationals evacuated amid criticism of UK response
(about 4 hours later)
Ministers defend response to crisis as British armed forces take over running of airstrip from GermanyMinisters defend response to crisis as British armed forces take over running of airstrip from Germany
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. Britain has evacuated more than 200 of its citizens from Sudan on three flights from an airfield north of the capital, with the first group on their way to the UK from Cyprus, where flights have been stopping over.
People have started arriving in Cyprus on RAF flights out of the north-east African country – the scene of increasingly bitter fighting. The home secretary, Suella Braverman, said “approximately 200 to 300 people” had been airlifted from Sudan in three initial flights, with further RAF rescue flights from civil war-hit Sudan expected later on Wednesday.
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. So far, numbers of people airlifted out are a fraction of the 2,000-plus UK citizens and dual nationals estimated to be trapped in the country by fighting that broke out suddenly between the country’s military government and the Rapid Support Force (RSF) paramilitary group a fortnight ago.
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. Britons have been told to make their own way to the Wadi Seidna airbase north of Khartoum, but there are reports of fighting between rival forces despite a 72-hour ceasefire agreed on Monday night, making the journey fraught and potentially dangerous.
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. The UK is in temporary control of the Sudanese airfield, having taken over from Germany overnight after Berlin completed its own rescue of more than 700 diplomats and civilians from at least 30 countries.
Braverman defended her government’s response to the crisis on Wednesday, insisting the government had been “closely monitoring the situation for weeks”. Britain has been criticised for lagging behind Germany and France in rescuing civilians, instead being the second country, after the US, to rescue its embassy staff on Sunday. Germany and France began rescue flights for diplomats and civilians from Sunday, with the UK starting a broader evacuation on Tuesday.
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. Braverman said the UK was “removing, relocating British nationals” adding that the UK had to cope with a “larger cohort of British nationals in Sudan compared to other countries”.
“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”. Three RAF planes have landed at Larnaca in Cyprus, and the first onward flight to the UK left on Wednesday shortly before 10am BST and is due to arrive at London Stansted airport in the afternoon. A fourth plane is due into Larnaca at 2.30pm local time (12.30pm BST) with potentially another five to follow.
“It is the first charter to leave,” a source told the Guardian. “Three RAF planes have arrived with evacuees so far, one at 8.40pm last night, one at 3.20am this morning and one at 6.30am today.”
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.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.
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. Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, indicated that Germany had handed over the airstrip, with 1,000 UK military personnel involved in the rescue effort at a whole. On Tuesday, 120 Royal Marines were sent to Wadi Seidna to secure the air strip and consular and Border Force staff sent out to process evacuees.
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. It was not clear how many more people would be able to make it to the airport, with phone and internet communications intermittent, the banking network down and shortages of petrol as the conflict simmers, particularly in the capital, Khartoum.
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.” A UK student attempting to flee Sudan said she did 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,” said Samar Eltayeb, 20, from Birmingham.
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.” Wallace said only one nation could facilitate the airfield at a time. But he added there was “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.
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. On Tuesday, Germany said it had evacuated diplomats and other people, with the foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, saying Berlin would not leave civilians “to their own devices”.
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. She said that, “unlike in other countries”, Germany’s evacuation had included all its nationals and not only embassy staff.
Announcing the completion of Germany’s evacuation efforts, Baerbock said Berlin would not leave civilians “to their own devices”. The UK government is considering other options, including a possible seaborne evacuation from Port Sudan, 500 miles from the capital, particularly if the air route is closed off. Wallace said on Tuesday he had asked frigate HMS Lancaster to sail to the port city to potentially help.
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.