This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/30/sudan-final-uk-flight-leaves-as-evacuation-operation-ends

The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Sudan: final UK flight leaves as evacuation operation ends UK government extends Sudan evacuation with additional flight
(about 9 hours later)
Last flight left on Saturday night following evacuation of nearly 1,900 people and amid concerns Sudan’s army had blocked some from leaving FCDO asks any British nationals hoping to leave war-torn country to reach airport in Port Sudan by noon local time on Monday
The final UK flight taking evacuees from Sudan left on Saturday night, the UK government has said, marking the end of Britain’s evacuation operation from the country stricken by warring armed forces. The government has announced plans to carry out an additional evacuation flight from Sudan on Monday, after previously suggesting that efforts to bring British nationals out of the war-torn country had concluded.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said the last flight left Wadi Saeedna airfield, just north of the capital, Khartoum, at 10pm local time and that the UK is no longer running evacuation flights from the airfield. In a statement on Sunday, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) urged any UK nationals still hoping to leave Sudan to make their way to the airport in Port Sudan, on the Red Sea coast, by noon local time (11am BST) on 1 May.
Earlier on Saturday night, it was announced that 1,888 people on 21 flights had been evacuated – the vast majority of them British nationals and their dependants – but that the last flight had not left despite being scheduled to depart at 6pm. The flight that left Wadi Seidna airport, just north of the capital, Khartoum, late on Saturday night had been expected to mark the end of the evacuation.
The Conservative chair of the foreign affairs select committee told the Observer she had received information that elements of the Sudanese Armed Forces had blocked British nationals as they attempted to navigate the treacherous route to an airbase north of Khartoum. The FCDO minister Andrew Mitchell told the BBC the operation had been “extremely successful”, but added: “We can’t stay there for ever in such dangerous circumstances.”
Foreign office minister Andrew Mitchell told the BBC the operation had been “extremely successful”, but added: “We can’t stay there forever in such dangerous circumstances.” The number of people evacuated by the government has reached 2,122, on 23 flights, the FCDO said on Sunday, calling it “the longest and largest evacuation effort of any western country from Sudan”.
Foreign secretary James Cleverly said: “The UK has brought more than 1,888 people to safety from Sudan thanks to the efforts of staff and military working around the clock to deliver this evacuation – the largest of any western country. Ministers were initially criticised for a slow response to the crisis, with some UK citizens trapped in Sudan complaining of poor communication and lack of support.
“We continue to press all diplomatic levers to secure a long-term ceasefire and end the bloodshed in Sudan. Ultimately a stable transition to civilian rule is the best way to protect the security and prosperity of the Sudanese people.” The foreign secretary, James Cleverly, confirmed there would be no further evacuation flights from Wadi Seidna.
The winding down of the UK operation follows a last-minute u-turn by the government to allow NHS workers to join British nationals trapped in Sudan on to the last flights on Saturday, with a middy deadline given to reach the airport amid the chaos. It comes after a doctors’ union called for NHS medics without UK passports to be included in the airlifts. “Evacuation flights have ended from Wadi Saeedna but our rescue efforts continue from Port Sudan. We continue to do everything in our power to secure a long-term ceasefire, a stable transition to civilian rule and an end [to] the violence in Sudan,” he said.
Thousands more British citizens may yet remain in Sudan, against a backdrop of continued fighting in Khartoum despite the extension of an ceasefire between the country’s two warring generals having been brokered in the early hours of Friday. The Conservative chair of the foreign affairs select committee, Alicia Kearns, told the Observer she had received information that elements of the Sudanese armed forces had blocked British nationals as they attempted to navigate the treacherous route to the airbase north of Khartoum.
Sudan’s former prime minister Abdalla Hamdok has warned that the conflict in the turbulent African nation could deteriorate to one of the world’s worst civil wars if it is not stopped early. The extension of the UK evacuation follows a last-minute U-turn by the government to allow NHS workers to join British nationals trapped in Sudan on to flights on Saturday. It came after a doctors’ union called for NHS medics without UK passports to be included in the airlifts.
More than 500 people have been killed since battles erupted on 15 April between the forces of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his number two Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, commonly known as Hemedti, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The FCDO confirmed that evacuation criteria had been expanded on Saturday to include “eligible non-British nationals in Sudan who are working as clinicians within the NHS, and their dependants who have leave to enter the UK”.
“God forbid if Sudan is to reach a point of civil war proper ... Syria, Yemen, Libya will be a small play,” Hamdok said in a conversation with Sudan-born telecoms tycoon Mo Ibrahim at an event in Nairobi. Thousands more British citizens may yet remain in Sudan, against a backdrop of continued fighting in Khartoum, despite a ceasefire extension between the country’s two warring generals that was brokered in the early hours of Friday.
Sign up to First Edition
Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you through the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning
after newsletter promotion
Sudan’s former prime minister Abdalla Hamdok has warned that the conflict in the turbulent African country could deteriorate into one of the world’s worst civil wars if it is not stopped soon.
More than 500 people have been killed since battles erupted on 15 April between the forces of the army’s commander-in-chief and Sudan’s de facto ruler, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the country’s deputy leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known as Hemedti, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
“God forbid if Sudan is to reach a point of civil war proper … Syria, Yemen, Libya will be a small play,” Hamdok said in a conversation with Sudan-born telecoms tycoon Mo Ibrahim at an event in Nairobi.
“I think it would be a nightmare for the world,” he said, adding that it would have many ramifications.“I think it would be a nightmare for the world,” he said, adding that it would have many ramifications.
With PA MediaWith PA Media