UK ‘severely limited’ to assist citizens in Sudan
Governments around the world have begun evacuating embassy staff in response to the growing conflict in Sudan
The UK government has warned the approximately 4,000 British passport holders in Sudan that it is ‘severely limited’ in its ability to evacuate them at the present time.
The statement was made by Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, in response to the ongoing conflict between the Sudanese military and a rogue, formerly government-controlled, paramilitary force known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which began on 15 April. The fighting has now claimed the lives of over 400 people, including at least 264 civilians, as of 23 April, with no sign of a ceasefire.
Cleverly added that: “The safety and protection of British nationals in Sudan remains a top priority for us … I will say to British nationals in the area, please register with us. We have circulated a link so we know who is there and where they are, so if an opportunity arises, we can find a way of helping them.”
The UK has, however, now evacuated all diplomats and their dependants from its Khartoum embassy, with the aim of ‘relocating diplomatic functions to a nearby diplomatic post’. However, Cleverly stated that this specific evacuation was in response to ‘specific threats and violence directed towards diplomats’, as well as general ‘escalating violence in Khartoum’.
Speaking to Sky News, Andrew Mitchell, the UK Minister for International Development and Africa added that: “Since we went into 24/7 crisis mode on the Sudan situation our intention always has been to facilitate the exit of our own citizens as soon as it is safe to do so.” He explained that the prioritisation of the embassy staff was due to the ‘acute danger’ posed to them.
Governments worldwide are evacuating embassy staff
The US evacuated all embassy staff and their dependants on Saturday, but are reportedly not yet planning to coordinate an evacuation for other American citizens. The US government is reportedly exploring options to help them leave. Likewise, Switzerland has also closed its embassy in Khartoum and evacuated staff and families.
France has been conducting an evacuation operation which has led to around 388 people being evacuated from Sudan so far, while the German Air Force has evacuated 313 people from Sudan so far. A Spanish military aircraft has reportedly flown around 100 people out of Khartoum, including over 30 Spaniards and a number of foreign nationals.
Sudan’s neighbour, Egypt, reportedly had around 10,000 nationals in Sudan – of which 436 have been evacuated so far.