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British nationals should leave Sudan immediately, says foreign secretary Cleverly: UK can’t guarantee Sudan airlift will carry on after ceasefire end
(about 9 hours later)
James Cleverly says there is no guarantee of further rescue flights after ceasefire ends on Thursday night Foreign secretary says Britain will try to keep flights going as Tory MP presses him over fate of Britons’ Sudanese parents
British nationals trapped in Sudan have been warned by the government that there is “no guarantee” of getting them out of the increasingly violent country after the ceasefire ends and they should leave immediately. The foreign secretary has said the UK cannot guarantee evacuation flights from Sudan will continue into Friday, but has come under pressure over the refusal to allow Britons in the country to take elderly parents with them.
More than 530 people have been evacuated by plane from Sudan, but a three-day ceasefire is due to end on Thursday night, putting any future rescue flights in jeopardy. James Cleverly told MPs on Thursday afternoon that the UK would endeavour to keep the airlift going after the ceasefire is due to end at midnight local time, although he said he could not guarantee this, and continued to advise Britons to leave immediately.
The foreign secretary, James Cleverly, said evacuations had been made easier by the ceasefire, but it was impossible to predict what would happen when it ends. The Conservative MP Alicia Kearns called on Cleverly to relax the evacuation requirements to allow Britons to take their Sudanese parents with them, amid reports that some were refusing to leave infirm mothers or fathers behind.
“We cannot predict exactly what will happen when that ceasefire ends, but what we do know is it will be much, much harder, potentially impossible,” he told Sky News. “Children we treat as dependants but very elderly sick parents should also be treated as dependants”, said Kearns, the chair of the foreign affairs select committee, adding it was not clear whether the Home Office or the Foreign Office was determining the criteria.
“So, what we’re saying to British nationals is: if you’re hesitant, if you’re weighing up your options, our strong, strong advice is to go through Wadi Saeedna [airstrip] whilst the ceasefire is up and running. “Our primary duty is to traditionally recognised dependants,” Cleverly responded, adding “it would be a real challenge to extend the criteria”. He said he wished instinctively to be as supportive as possible.
“There are planes, there is capacity, we will lift you out. I’m not able to make those same assurances once a ceasefire has ended.” Britain has been evacuating civilians from the Wadi Seidna airbase north of Khartoum since Tuesday, airlifting 536 people in a series of flights going via Cyprus to the UK, but it will only pick up British nationals, their spouses and children under 18.
The government has faced criticism by some British nationals about the lack of communication and planning as they attempt to leave the country. The fragile 72-hour ceasefire is due to end at midnight, but the UK hopes to be able to continue the evacuation if people can make it safely to the airfield. Military planners say the site is relatively secure under the control of the Sudanese army, which is embroiled in a struggle with the paramilitaries for control of the country.
“We will endeavour to keep evacuating people through to air head in Wadi Seidna, but we cannot guarantee our ability to do so,” Cleverly told MPs. However, the unpredictability of the situation meant that “we are encouraging those who wish to travel to make their way to the airport today”.
The total evacuated will rise on Thursday but the minister acknowledged that Foreign Office officials had no means of knowing how many of the 2,000-plus who had registered to leave on UK government flights had in reality taken other routes out of the country.
A contingent of Royal Marines is at Port Sudan, 500 miles north-east of Khartoum, ready to help up open up a potential new evacuation point. Maritime trackers showed that the frigate HMS Lancaster had arrived at the city to help with a possible rescue if the airlift has to stop.
The foreign secretary called on both sides – the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces – to extend the ceasefire, although he acknowledged: “Our ability as in the case for all outside powers to determine the course of events inside Sudan is limited.”
But he added: “Anyone if they aspire to be a leader of Sudan, demonstrating a willingness to protect the people of Sudan would be a good starting point.”
The UK government has faced criticism about being behind Germany and France in evacuating civilians, and from some Britons caught up in the outbreak of fighting about a lack of communication and planning as they attempt to leave the country.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Cleverly said: “I understand how frustrating it must be when you are not able to get communication or get updates of what’s happened.”Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Cleverly said: “I understand how frustrating it must be when you are not able to get communication or get updates of what’s happened.”
He said the mobile phone coverage in Khartoum was inconsistent and UK representatives had been broadcasting messages through social media channels and WhatsApp groups. The minister acknowledged mobile phone coverage in Khartoum was inconsistent and UK representatives had been broadcasting messages through social media channels and WhatsApp groups.
Asked why other countries, such as Germany, China and the US, had evacuated more people, Cleverly said UK nationals were more dispersed than other expat communities.Asked why other countries, such as Germany, China and the US, had evacuated more people, Cleverly said UK nationals were more dispersed than other expat communities.
But he refused to discuss the possibility of safe and legal routes for non-UK nationals fleeing Sudan to get to the UK.But he refused to discuss the possibility of safe and legal routes for non-UK nationals fleeing Sudan to get to the UK.
“There is war and conflict all over the world. There are literally millions upon millions of people who are in countries plagued by war. We recognise that we cannot host everybody who is in a country plagued by war,” he said.“There is war and conflict all over the world. There are literally millions upon millions of people who are in countries plagued by war. We recognise that we cannot host everybody who is in a country plagued by war,” he said.
Asked about the home secretary’s comments that people arriving in the UK in small boats had values which were “at odds with our country”, Cleverly said: “We have always been a generous nation, but we can also see that there are people who are proactively abusing our hospitality.”
He added: “People are generous of spirit, but if we see people abusing that generosity, it erodes trust, it erodes trust in the immigration system.”
Cleverly has said he did not recognise reports that the UK had delayed Germany’s efforts to evacuate its citizens from Sudan at the weekend. The BBC said it had been told by senior German political sources that Britain’s mission to extract its embassy staff had led to a temporary blockade of the airfield near the capital, Khartoum, from which subsequent evacuation flights have taken off.
“I don’t recognise that reporting, that is not what has been communicated to us,” he said.
Speaking on the Today programme he said: “The reason we extracted our diplomats is because where the British diplomatic staff were located was right in the epicentre of the conflict and we know diplomatic staff were directly being targeted.”