Sudan violence: UK insists contact continues with trapped Britons

The government insists it is in touch with Britons still stuck in Sudan after an evacuation operation only rescued UK diplomats and their families.

Minister Andrew Mitchell said 2,000 UK nationals had registered for help, but there could be up to 4,000 in Sudan.

The diplomats, who were flown out on Sunday, had been in a terrible position surrounded by fighting, he added.

Violence in Sudan between two opposing forces has seen deadly shooting and shelling in the capital, Khartoum.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has warned help for UK nationals remains “limited” until a ceasefire is reached – as some said they felt abandoned by the UK government.

Alicia Kearns, Conservative MP and chair of the foreign affairs select committee, said Britons stuck in Sudan were living in “abject fear” and the lack of contact with them suggested “no lessons have been learnt since Afghanistan”.

The power struggle that erupted last week between Sudan’s regular army and a paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has also affected other parts of the country, leading to a growing humanitarian crisis.

Electricity is scarce and food and water supplies are running out for many.

Sam, a British businessman living in Sudan, told the BBC on Sunday that news of the UK evacuation at the weekend “gave us hope, but in the absence of any information from the government this was clearly a solution for diplomats only”.

He described the situation as a “nightmare for those of us left behind”, and said he knew of many people from other countries such as Hungary and South Africa whose embassies were making plans to evacuate nationals.

‘Dicey situation’

Another UK citizen in Sudan, William, opted to leave Khartoum on a bus organised by his Sudanese employer, taking him and other British nationals to neighbouring Egypt.

Speaking to the BBC’s Newshour programme on Sunday evening, he said the UK government had given him no support, adding: “We had to basically go private, we’ve had absolutely nothing but nonsense from the government, and not even nonsense. We’ve had nothing.”

William described waiting to be collected by the bus as a “dicey situation” with “gunfire going off all the time”.

Amar, who lives in Edinburgh, has been visiting family in Omdurman which is about 15 miles north of Sudan’s capital. Speaking to the BBC on Sunday, he said he did what the Foreign Office recommended but has not heard back.

“It’s getting worse by the minute”, he said, explaining that he is considering whether to evacuate by road to Egypt.

Describing the situation as traumatising, Amar’s wife Fatima added: “It’s getting worse – the clashes, the fighting, and there are dead bodies everywhere.”

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“Everyone is trying to escape and flee the country and you can see the country is really getting into a civil war and in the middle of all this you don’t get any kind of support.”

BBC