RAF plane lands in Sudan for future evacuations
Dan Sabbagh
A British RAF plane has landed at port city in the north-east of Sudan as a British minister said that the UK is evaluating further military options for rescuing non-diplomats from the country by land, sea and air.
A C17 Globemaster is on the ground at Port Sudan with some troops who may form part of a second rescue organised by the UK following Sunday’s controversial evacuation of British diplomats from the capital, Khartoum, but not other UK nationals.
James Heappey, the minister for the armed forces said in a briefing that the UK recognises that “the job isn’t done” when it comes to rescuing the 4,000 or more British and dual nationals trapped in Sudan.
“Work is under way in [the Ministry of Defence] and has been all weekend and the back end of last week to give the prime minister and Cobra options for what else could be done to support the wider community of British nationals in Sudan,” the defence minister said.
A storm gathered on Monday over Britain’s decision to rescue only its diplomats when other countries such as Germany had been evacuating both diplomats and nationals, prompting British ministers to say that evacuation efforts had not been abandoned.
Heappey said that discussions in government were continuing “at pace” and that Rishi Sunak would be given options to help Britons trapped in Sudan “as and when they arise”, but added that there was a concern that the military situation was highly unstable given the fighting between government and RSF rebel forces.
A frigate, HMS Lancaster, is also available nearby and could participate in any maritime rescue, if one were organised. Although the long journey from Khartoum to Port Sudan is not being recommended by British officials and is fraught with danger, convoys have been able to make it to the relatively safety of the city.
Key events
The US is pushing for a ceasefire between the two warring factions in Sudan to be broadened to help bring the conflict to an end.
Secretary of state Antony Blinken told a news conference that he was in talks with military leaders.
Officials are engaging “directly” with Sudanese military leaders General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the army, and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group.
“We also continue to engage directly … to press them to extend and expand the ceasefire,” the secretary of state said.
Blinken said that the US was hoping to restore an embassy presence to the country as soon as possible.
He added that convoys trying to leave Khartoum have had difficulties including robbing and looting which has held up evacuations.
African countries’ evacuation efforts under way
Here’s a short round up of the response by African countries.
Kenya has said it will not be withdrawing its diplomats from Sudan as it wants them to help negotiate a “peaceful solution” to the conflict.
The foreign secretary Alfred Mutua spoke at a press conference alongside US secretary of state Antony Blinken. On Twitter he went on to say some students have already been withdrawn and the country is in the process of rescuing another 300 people. He called for all Kenyans in Sudan to register with the embassy to enable their evacuation.
Meanwhile Uganda has withdrawn more than 200 of its citizens as well as six foreign nationals. They are being transported on buses through Ethiopia, according to Uganda’s ambassador to Khartoum Rashid Ssemuddu, Agence France-Presse reports.
His office said the evacuees left Sudan’s capital Khartoum on four buses on Sunday, travelling hundreds of kilometres (miles) through Ethiopia before arriving in the Ugandan city of Entebbe.
Last week Egypt evacuated 177 of its soldiers from Sudan, and another 436 citizens left by land on Sunday. More than 10,000 Egyptian nationals are thought to live in Sudan.
Chad, who have already had thousands of refugees fleeing the conflict arriving over its border, said it was sending planes to collect 438 citizens who are leaving the capital Khartoum by bus for Port Sudan, which is at the centre of rescue efforts.
Nigeria plans to get nearly 3,000 of its nationals, mostly students but also including embassy staff and their families, out of the country by convoy to neighbouring Egypt, an official told AFP. It is predicted that about 5,000 Nigerian nationals in total could be looking for evacuation.
South Africa has begun evacuating dozens of its citizens including embassy staff.
Mauritania’s top diplomat Mohamed Salem Ould Marzouk said that 101 citizens were taken by ship to the Saudi port of Jeddah on Sunday.
North African countries Algeria and Tunisia have also begun their own operations.
RAF plane lands in Sudan for future evacuations
Dan Sabbagh
A British RAF plane has landed at port city in the north-east of Sudan as a British minister said that the UK is evaluating further military options for rescuing non-diplomats from the country by land, sea and air.
A C17 Globemaster is on the ground at Port Sudan with some troops who may form part of a second rescue organised by the UK following Sunday’s controversial evacuation of British diplomats from the capital, Khartoum, but not other UK nationals.
James Heappey, the minister for the armed forces said in a briefing that the UK recognises that “the job isn’t done” when it comes to rescuing the 4,000 or more British and dual nationals trapped in Sudan.
“Work is under way in [the Ministry of Defence] and has been all weekend and the back end of last week to give the prime minister and Cobra options for what else could be done to support the wider community of British nationals in Sudan,” the defence minister said.
A storm gathered on Monday over Britain’s decision to rescue only its diplomats when other countries such as Germany had been evacuating both diplomats and nationals, prompting British ministers to say that evacuation efforts had not been abandoned.
Heappey said that discussions in government were continuing “at pace” and that Rishi Sunak would be given options to help Britons trapped in Sudan “as and when they arise”, but added that there was a concern that the military situation was highly unstable given the fighting between government and RSF rebel forces.
A frigate, HMS Lancaster, is also available nearby and could participate in any maritime rescue, if one were organised. Although the long journey from Khartoum to Port Sudan is not being recommended by British officials and is fraught with danger, convoys have been able to make it to the relatively safety of the city.
Germany’s foreign minister Annalena Baerbock has said that the country has been able to fly more than 300 people out of Sudan.
In a press conference alongside defence minister Boris Pistorius she said that the latest evacuation count was up to Monday morning, Reuters reports.
She added that this included embassy staff and that some German nationals remained in the north east African country.
Zwischenstand zur Militärischen Evakuierung im #Sudan, mit #Baerbock & #Pistorius. Inzwischen über 300 Menschen durch Bundeswehr et al. evakuiert, darunter Botschaftspersonal und Menschen aus 20 Nationen. Es sind allerdings noch deutsche Staatsbürger vor Ort. (…) pic.twitter.com/qzy4b8dFRG
— Martin Kaul (@martinkaul) April 24, 2023
Staying on France’s response, the country’s navy is sending a warship to Sudan to help pick up nationals being evacuated.
Two diplomatic sources told Reuters the French frigate Lorraine was heading for the port but had yet to reach Sudanese waters, one of the sources said.
European states, as well as China and Japan were racing to extract their citizens from Sudan on Monday as the UN chief warned of the risk of “a catastrophic conflagration” with wider repercussions.
France closing embassy in Sudan
The French embassy in Khartoum will be closed after the armed clashes between the army and paramilitary group.
The French mission in Khartoum will be shut “until further notice”, the foreign affairs ministry said, and would no longer serve as a rallying point for expatriates trying to leave the country.
France has airlifted 491 people from 36 countries, including 12 EU nations, to Djibouti since Sunday, according to the ministry, Agence France Presse (AFP) reports.
They included two Greeks and one Belgian who had been wounded, as well as the German and Swiss ambassadors, it said.
French nationals in Djibouti today were due to land in France in coming days.
The ministry however added that it had been unable to reach the few French people living outside the capital Khartoum.
France had to coordinate with both sides of the conflict to ensure successful evacuations, the ministry said.
The Sudanese armed forces led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan control the airport, while many of those needing to be evacuated were in areas held by the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by his deputy turned rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, it explained.
President Emmanuel Macron was “able to speak to Gen Burhan to obtain the necessary assurances in order to evacuate our citizens by air,” the presidency said.
“He will stay in touch with actors in the region in coming days in order to contribute to peace efforts,” it added.
US raises concerns about Russian Wagner group operating in Sudan
US secretary of state Antony Blinken has raised concerns about the Russian mercenary force, the Wagner group, operating in Sudan.
Wagner, who were founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, have been heavily engaged in the conflict in Ukraine after Russia’s invasion. There is now a suggestion the group is active in Sudan.
He told a press conference: “We do have deep concern about the engagement of the Prigozhin group – the Wagner group – in Sudan.
Blinken said the Wagner group has been active in Mali and Central African Republic.
Kenya’s foreign secretary, Alfred Mutua, also pointed the finger at Middle Eastern countries. He did not name them, but Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have been widely reported to have backed warring generals, Agence France Presse reports.
“We’ve been quite concerned by some of our friends in the Middle East as well as Russia or others who for a long time have been friendly to either one or the other side,” he said.
“At this particular time, it is not a time to be able to sides in a war,” Mutua said.
He added that foreign players were “trying to use Sudan as a playing field for whatever reason.”
“We are asking external forces to leave Sudan alone.”
After reports that evacuation efforts nearly “collapsed” on Sunday, Downing Street said it “did not recognise” the claims.
It has been alleged that there was a standoff related to the evacuation of a Sudanese citizen on a British flight.
Rishi Sunak’s spokesman said: “We don’t recognise the claim that the operation was in some way compromised or impacted by this.
“The plane left quickly, it left without any major incident with the rest of the party. The Sudanese national was later evacuated on a French plane, I understand.”
The decision not to evacuate the Sudanese citizen would have been made on the ground, Downing Street suggested.
The spokesperson added that lessons had been learned from the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. “It’s been a very fast-moving and complex situation. I think, as demonstrated over the weekend, we moved very swiftly in what was very challenging circumstances to safely evacuate the diplomats from Sudan” they said.
“Part of that has been informed by lessons learned from previous situations including Afghanistan.”
The British parliament has been discussing the situation in Sudan with a Foreign Office minister telling MPs that any British nationals who try to relocate or flee “do so at their own risk”.
Andrew Mitchell said that the international airport in Khartoum was not operational and added that the safety of British nationals in the country was “the utmost priority”.
Mitchell said that the government was still pushing for another ceasefire to be agreed and followed by the warring army and RSF group.
“Ending the violence is the single most important action we can take to guarantee the safety of British nationals and everyone in Sudan,” he said.
What is the situation in Sudan?
As the UK and other countries continue to evacuate its citizens out of Sudan, here’s what has happened so far as the country has descended in to war.
Fighting began less than a fortnight ago on 15 April as 25 were killed in clashes between rival military groups in Sudan. Fighting has since continued in the capital, Khartoum. Hundreds have been killed, with the number of injured in the thousands according to reports.
The warring factions make up the two main sections of the ruling military power.
The Sudanese armed forces are loyal to Abdulfatah al-Burhan, the current de facto leader of Sudan.
Meanwhile the paramilitary group Rapid Support Force (RSF) follow the former warlord Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who is also known as Hemedti.
Hemedti is deputy head of the transitional governing Sovereign Council, while al-Burhan is its head. There had been a planned shift to civilian rule which provides the backdrop to the conflict.
An internationally-backed ceasefire broke down after a matter of hours on April 19 as groups fought for control of key locations in the capital including the presidential palace, airport and general command of the Sudanese armed forces. Another truce around the holiday of Eid al-Fitr, the end of the Ramadan fast, also failed.
In the days since thousands of people have fled the violence to neighbouring countries including Chad. British diplomats were evacuated on Sunday, although there were reports that the efforts nearly collapsed – in scenes reminiscent of the British withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
Meanwhile the US removed some of its citizens in Chinook helicopters on Sunday, and nearly 500 French nationals have been evacuated by its government.
UN warns conflict could engulf entire region
Welcome to our coverage of the ongoing situation in Sudan as thousands of Britons remain trapped as they try to flee the north-east African country.
On Monday afternoon the secretary general of the UN, António Guterres warned that the situation could engulf the whole region. Guterres called for a ceasefire and said that humanitarian aid workers should be allowed in by both sides.
He said:
“Let me be clear: the United Nations is not leaving Sudan. Our commitment is to the Sudanese people, in support of their wishes for a peaceful and secure future. We stand with them at this terrible time.
“We must all do everything within our power to pull Sudan back from the edge of the abyss.”
