All evacuations out of Sudan will end at 6pm on Saturday, the Government has announced (Picture: EPA)
Brits who still need to flee the fighting in Sudan have less than 24 hours to catch an evacuation flight.
The UK will end the airlift by 6pm on Saturday, the Government announced today.
This means families should get to the Wadi Saeedna airfield by 12pm to ensure thay are processed for the last flight.
Deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden said operations would cease following a ‘significant decline’ in the number of British nationals seeking to flee the war-torn country.
Downing Street has so far rejected calls to widen the eligibility for evacuation beyond British passport holders and their immediate family.
Mr Dowden denied that the Government will effectively ‘abandon’ British citizens who have not been able to reach the airfield in time.
Asked whether Britain was leaving behind people struggling to get to the site or to coordinate with family members stuck in the country, he said: ‘I wouldn’t accept that characterisation.
British nationals onboard an RAF aircraft in Sudan being evacuated to Larnaca International Airport in Cyprus on Tuesday
British nationals board an RAF aircraft during the evacuation to Cyprus, at Wadi Seidna airport (Picture: Reuters)
‘The first thing I would say is that every single British national that has come forward and their eligible dependants have been put safely on to a plane.
‘We are seeing those numbers declining significantly and, just like other countries, as those numbers decline we have put an end date on this.’
He claimed ‘consular assistance’ will remain available at exit routes after the end of evacuation flights.
More than 1,500 people have been evacuated from Sudan so far, the ‘vast majority’ of whom are British nationals and eligible dependants.
It comes amid criticism of the pace of the UK evacuation, which was bought more time after a three-day extension to the ceasefire was agreed – the initial ceasefire was supposed to end at 11pm UK time on Thursday.
Concerns have been raised that the current approach could see families split up or some members left behind, with Labour calling on ministers to use the longer window to extend eligibility for evacuation before it is ‘too late’.
What you need to know about the war in Sudan
How did the war start?
The current fighting is the result of a power struggle between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The paramilitary group, which was originally created by dictator Omar al-Bashir to crush a rebellion in the western region of Darfur, cooperated with the army to overthrow the autocrat in 2019.
This was supposed to precede Sudan’s transition to a democratic government, a move backed by western nations.
The north African country saw more than two years of power-sharing between the military and civilian leaders but a coup brought this to an end in October 2021.
Sudan was left with the army’s general, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, as Sudan’s de facto ruler and the RSF’s general Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known as Hemedti, as vice-president.
What sparked the recent escalation?
The Sudanese people and the international community continued to push for a new transition to democracy after the coup.
The plan was to get Sudan to a point where civilian parties would have control over the military, which the RSF would be dissolved into.
But there has long been tension surrounding the details of this arrangement, namely the proposed timeline – the army wanted the integration complete in two years but the RSF insisted on waiting 10.
Nevertheless, negotiations looked hopeful with a final deal due to be signed earlier this month, before a new phase of fighting broke out on April 15.
The army pointed the finger at the RSF for mobilising troops to key strategic sites in the capital of Khartoum and the RSF claimed it was just responding to the army’s alleged plot to seize full power with Bashir loyalists.
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Brits in Sudan should get to the Wadi Saeedna airfield by 12pm local time on Saturday to be processed for the last flight.