RAF aircraft lands in Sudan while the UK assesses options for further evacuations | Sudan

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A British Royal Air Force plane has landed in a port city in northeastern Sudan, as a British minister says the UK is assessing further military options for rescuing non-diplomats from the country by land, sea and air.

A C17 Globemaster is on the ground in Port Sudan with some troops who may form part of a second rescue operation organized by the UK, following Sunday’s controversial evacuation of British diplomats from the capital, Khartoum, but not other British nationals.

James Heppey, the Minister for the Armed Forces, said in a briefing that the UK recognized that “mission is not over” when it comes to rescuing the 4,000 or more Britons and dual nationals trapped in Sudan.

Work is underway in [the Ministry of Defence] “It was all weekend and the back end last week to give the Prime Minister and Cobra options for what could be done to support the wider community of British subjects in Sudan,” the Defense Secretary said.

A storm gathered Monday over Britain’s decision to rescue its diplomats just as other countries such as Germany were evacuating diplomats and citizens, prompting British ministers to say evacuation efforts had not given up.

Hebe said discussions in the government were continuing at a “fast pace” and that Rishi Sunak would be given options to help the British besieged in Sudan “when they appeared”, but added that there were concerns that the military situation was too precarious given the fighting between government forces and the RSF.

A frigate, HMS Lancaster, is also available nearby and could take part in any sea rescue operation, if organized. Although the long journey from Khartoum to Port Sudan was not recommended by British officials and perilous, caravans managed to reach the relatively safe city.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Monday that violence in Sudan “threatens a catastrophic outbreak within Sudan that could engulf the entire region and beyond,” and called on Security Council members to exercise maximum influence.

Hebe said the rescue of two RAF aircraft – an Airbus A400M and a C-130 Hercules – which were operating through the Akrotiri base in Cyprus, “went without a hitch”. The planes landed via an airport in Wadi Saidna, about 30km north of Khartoum, and the UK worked with France and Germany to fly in and out of the country this weekend.

He said the MoD continued to look at arranging more evacuations by air, land and sea – although no decision had yet been made – but Wadi Saidna airport was small and only able to handle two A400M-sized aircraft at any one time, limiting the number of people that could be evacuated at any time.

Britain’s development secretary, Andrew Mitchell, had earlier said in a round of interviews on Monday morning that Mitchell had said he could not give a timetable for when British subjects could be rescued. “The situation is very desperate and a ceasefire is required,” he said. “The only advice Britain can give people is to stay at home because that is the safest option.”

Asked why diplomats were being evacuated but not citizens, Mitchell said that “we have a specific duty of care and a legal duty of care to our staff and our diplomats” and that there was a “very specific threat to the diplomatic community” in Khartoum.

However, he added, “Many Britons are very creative and know the situation on the ground, and if they decide on their own risk that there is a way to leave their homes, they will of course take it.”

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Alicia Cairns, the Tory chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, said the Foreign Office did not appear to have learned lessons from the evacuations from Afghanistan, according to its contacts with British subjects in Sudan.

“We have a moral obligation to tell British subjects as soon as possible that this is the verdict that has been handed down, because then they need to make their own decisions,” Cairns told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. Those who have registered with the State Department have only received two computer-generated letters in the past week.

European countries, China and others from around the world raced to pull thousands of their citizens out of Khartoum on Monday during an apparent lull in intense fighting. France and Germany said they had evacuated about 700 people, without giving details of their nationalities. A German Air Force plane carrying the evacuees landed in Berlin early on Monday.

Several countries sent military planes from Djibouti to ferry people out of the Sudanese capital, while other operations transported people by convoy to Port Sudan on the Red Sea, which is about 500 miles (800 kilometers) by road from Khartoum. From there some boarded ships bound for Saudi Arabia.

Indonesia said more than 500 of its citizens had been evacuated to the port and were awaiting transfer to Jeddah across the Red Sea. China, Denmark, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Sweden said they had evacuated their nationals, while Japan said it was preparing to send an evacuation team from Djibouti.

Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the House of Commons Defense Committee, has called for a “clear plan” to deport British passport holders. “If this plan doesn’t come out today, people will lose their confidence and then start getting their own back,” he told GB News, saying it could lead to “some very difficult situations”.

Violence took place in Sudan between army units loyal to its military ruler, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, against the Rapid Support Forces led by Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hamidti. Battles broke out in Khartoum and its twin city of Omdurman, and a series of ceasefires failed to hold.

Some Sudanese have expressed anger that Western countries seem to have prioritized evacuating their own people over trying to stop the fighting.

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