Diplomats and nationals from the UK, US, France, and China are set to be evacuated from Sudan by air, according to a statement from the Sudanese army. Army chief Fattah al-Burhan has agreed to facilitate and secure their evacuation “in the coming hours”. On Saturday, Saudi Arabia confirmed that it had safely transported 91 Saudi Arabian citizens, as well as 66 others from various other countries including Qatar, Pakistan, the UAE, and Canada. They were evacuated by sea, according to state TV channel Al-Ekhbariyah.
The UK government has said it is preparing for “a number of contingencies” in order to support British nationals and diplomatic staff in Khartoum. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak chaired a Cobra meeting – an emergency response committee – on Saturday morning about the situation in Sudan. However, fierce fighting in the city centre on Saturday made it unclear how evacuations from Khartoum’s airport could take place.
Spain has also announced that it is sending six planes to Djibouti as part of its efforts to evacuate Spanish nationals and others. Khartoum’s international airport has been closed due to the violence, with foreign embassies unable to bring their citizens home. The conflict has entered its second week despite both sides – the army and the RSF – agreeing to a three-day ceasefire to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, starting from Friday.
The fighting began after disagreements emerged between General Burhan and the RSF’s Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo over how Sudan should be run. They both held top positions in Sudan’s current military government, formed after the 2019 coup that ousted long-time leader Omar al-Bashir. The World Health Organization says more than 400 people have been killed, with thousands injured. Medical teams have been targeted in the fighting, with reports of rotting bodies of youth in the streets.
The UK government has said it is doing everything possible to support British nationals and diplomatic staff in Khartoum. It is working with the foreign office to prepare for a number of provisions, without specifying whether immediate evacuations are among those plans. A British citizen in Khartoum told the BBC she felt “completely abandoned” by the British government, adding that she had not been given “much information at all” about possible plans to be evacuated.
The UN has warned that up to 20,000 people – mostly women and children – have fled Sudan to seek safety in Chad, across the border from Darfur. Diplomats and nationals from the UK, US, France, and China are set to be evacuated from Sudan by air in the coming hours, according to a statement from the Sudanese army. Army chief Fattah al-Burhan has agreed to facilitate and secure their evacuation.
On Saturday, Saudi Arabia confirmed that it had safely transported 91 Saudi Arabian citizens, as well as 66 others from various other countries including Qatar, Pakistan, the UAE, and Canada. They were evacuated by sea, according to state TV channel Al-Ekhbariyah. The UK government has said it is preparing for “a number of contingencies” in order to support British nationals and diplomatic staff in Khartoum. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak chaired a Cobra meeting – an emergency response committee – on Saturday morning about the situation in Sudan.
Spain has also announced that it is sending six planes to Djibouti as part of its efforts to evacuate Spanish nationals and others. Khartoum’s international airport has been closed due to the violence, with foreign embassies unable to bring their citizens home. The conflict has entered its second week despite both sides – the army and the RSF – agreeing to a three-day ceasefire to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, starting from Friday.
The fighting began after disagreements emerged between General Burhan and the RSF’s Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo over how Sudan should be run. They both held top positions in Sudan’s current military government, formed after the 2019 coup that ousted long-time leader Omar al-Bashir. The World Health Organization says more than 400 people have been killed, with thousands injured. Medical teams have been targeted in the fighting, with reports of rotting bodies of youth in the streets.
The UK government is doing everything possible to support British nationals and diplomatic staff in Khartoum. It is working with the foreign office to prepare for a number of contingencies, without specifying whether immediate evacuations are among those plans. A British citizen in Khartoum told the BBC she felt “completely abandoned” by the British government, adding that she had not been given “much information at all” about possible plans to be evacuated.
The UN has warned that up to 20,000 people – mostly women and children – have fled Sudan to seek safety in Chad, across the border from Darfur. In response to this crisis, diplomats and nationals from the UK, US, France, and China are set to be evacuated from Sudan by air in the coming hours. Army chief Fattah al-Burhan has agreed to facilitate and secure their evacuation.
On Saturday, Saudi Arabia confirmed that it had safely transported 91 Saudi Arabian citizens, as well as 66 others from various other countries including Qatar, Pakistan, the UAE, and Canada. They were evacuated by sea, according to state TV channel Al-Ekhbariyah. Spain is also sending six planes to Djibouti as part of its efforts to evacuate Spanish nationals and others.
The UK government is doing everything possible to support British nationals and diplomatic staff in Khartoum. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak chaired a Cobra meeting – an emergency response committee – on Saturday morning about the situation in Sudan. The fighting began after disagreements emerged between General Burhan and the RSF’s Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo over how Sudan should be run.
The World Health Organization says more than 400 people have been killed, with thousands injured. Medical teams have been targeted in the fighting, with reports of rotting bodies of youth in the streets. The UN has warned that up to 20,000 people – mostly women and children – have fled Sudan to seek safety in Chad. In response to this crisis, diplomats and nationals from the UK, US, France, and China are set to be evacuated from Sudan by air soon.