Sudan: Final UK evacuation flight leaves the country

The UK government has completed its final evacuation flight from Sudan, rescuing more than 2,300 people. The airlift, which began amid a tentative ceasefire last week, has seen Britons, their dependents, Sudanese NHS staff, and other eligible nationalities taken to safety. The country was plunged into crisis after fighting broke out between rival military factions on 15 April. Renewed 72-hour ceasefires have been put in place, but violence is likely to escalate after the end of the agreement. 

The UK government will now shift its focus to providing humanitarian aid, though Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has warned that continuing conflict could impede relief efforts. Despite criticism that the UK government was slow to start its evacuation, the Foreign Office says it has overseen “the longest and largest operation of any Western nation”. 

The UK government joined other countries in evacuating citizens from Sudan after the commercial airport was taken out of action by fighting and communication networks went down. The initial evacuation flights organised by the British military left from an airstrip close to the capital Khartoum, but the operation was moved to the eastern coastal city of Port Sudan, which has been less affected by fighting.