Sudan crisis – live: UK flights land in Larnaca as Braverman says refugees on boats face deportation

A US-brokered ceasefire in Sudan appears to be “partially holding”, UN special envoy Volker Perthes said.

He, however, told the UN Security Council that there was no sign the warring parties were ready to negotiate.

This suggested “that both think that securing a military victory over the other is possible”, Mr Perthes said. “This is a miscalculation.”

Meanwhile, the second flight evacuating British nationals from Sudan landed in Cyprus this morning, it was reported.

The first flight carrying 39 people landed on Tuesday as reports of “fierce battles” in West Darfur and fighting near Khartoum jeopardise the volatile new ceasefire underpinning the UK rescue mission.

The passengers on the second flight and the 39 from an earlier rescue flight on Tuesday are expected to be flown to the UK from Cyprus later.

Some Sudanese relatives of British nationals have been denied temporary visas and excluded from evacuation flights, The Independent has been told – with no plans to set up a legal route for Sudanese refugees to claim asylum.

Key Points

• Second flight carrying Britons from Sudan lands in Cyprus

• No sign Sudan warring parties ready to negotiate, UN says

• Woman trapped near Sudan army base pleads for evacuation: ‘Please save me and my son’

• First evacuation flight leaves after Britons told to make their own way to airfield ‘asap’

• Exclusive: UK evacuation ‘inhuman’ as Sudanese relatives excluded – with no plans for asylum route

• WHO says 'high risk of biological hazard' after Sudan laboratory seized

How is the UK evacuating people from Sudan?

08:55 , Matt Mathers

The first British nationals were evacuated from conflict-torn Sudan on Tuesday.

A 72-hour ceasefire between warring factions has provided a window for foreign nationals to escape a “dangerous, volatile and unpredictable” situation, according to the prime minister Rishi Sunak.

Several previous ceasefires declared since 15 April outbreak of fighting were not observed, the Associated Press reports.

Here is a look at what we know about the evacuation plans, so far.

Jacob Phillips reports:

How is the UK evacuating people from Sudan?

A British doctor was shot saving his family in Sudan. Now, he’s trapped and supplies are dwindling

08:45 , Maroosha Muzaffar

A British doctor trapped in Sudan has been shot in the leg as he “risked his life” to rescue his elderly mother, his daughter has revealed.

The doctor, who retired recently after working in the NHS for over 30 years, was visiting his family in Khartoum for Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr when fierce clashes between the country’s two top generals erupted in the city on 15 April.

His daughter and mother, who requires constant care, had been without water and electricity for five days at his brother’s house close to the airport when he felt he had to move them to a safer place.

Speaking to The Independent, his daughter – a British doctor based in London – told how her father drove to the house at dusk last Thursday through the streets of the capital, past bodies strewn across the roads.

Calling herself Dr A to protect family in Sudan, she said: “They started shooting at the car first. My father kept going, but then he stopped because the shooting was coming from all directions.

Tara Cobham reports:

British doctor shot in leg as he rescued mother and daughter in Sudan

Suella Braverman says Sudanese refugees who come to UK on small boats will face deportation

08:39 , Matt Mathers

Sudanese refugees who arrive in the UK on small boats will have “come here illegally” and face deportation, Suella Braverman has confirmed.

The Home Secretary said those fleeing the conflict in Sudan would be detained and could be removed to Rwanda under the government’s Illegal Migration Bill.

“There is no good reason for anybody to get into a small boat and cross the channel in search of a life in the UK,” Ms Braverman said when asked what will happen to Sudanese asylum seekers arriving in the country.

Archie Mitchell reports:

Braverman says Sudanese refugees who come to UK on small boats will face deportation

UK has evacuated up to 300 people from Sudan - Braverman

08:35 , Matt Mathers

Home secretary Suella Braverman said 200 to 300 people had been evacuated from Sudan so far as part of the airlift.

She told Sky News: “We commenced an evacuation mission in the last 24-48 hours and we expect there to be approximately 200 to 300 people who have been relocated from Sudan in the last few flights.

“We are now commencing an extensive operation, working with over 1,000 personnel from the RAF and the armed forces.”

She defended the UK’s response, saying the government had to cope with a “larger cohort of British nationals in Sudan compared to many other countries”.

UK troops to take over Sudan airfield as evacuation flights gather pace

08:30 , Matt Mathers

The first evacuation flights carrying British nationals have taken off from Sudan as UK troops prepare to take over the running of the airfield.

Two Royal Air Force planes have landed at Larnaca Airport in Cyprus as of 6.30am on Wednesday, with the first charter flight back to London set to depart later in the day.

Families with young children were among those on the first flights that landed in Cyprus with a British man telling the BBC that his sister, who left Sudan overnight, felt an overwhelming sense of relief.

Three planes were due to have left conflict-torn Khartoum for Cyprus by Wednesday morning, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledging “many more” would follow as he warned of a “critical” 24 hours.

Defence secretary Ben Wallace said the UK would take charge of the Wadi Saeedna airstrip near the capital from German forces, after Berlin said its final evacuation flight would leave on Tuesday night.

Not inevitable Sudanese people will arrive in UK on small boats - Braverman

08:16 , Matt Mathers

There is “no good reason” for “anybody” to cross the Channel in search of a new life in the UK, home secretary Suella Braverman has said as she faced questions on the Sudan crisis.

Speaking to Sky News, Ms Braverman also said it was not inevitable that Sudanese people would try to flee to Britain as their country collapses amid an ongoing conflict.

Nearly 4,000 Sudanese have arrived in the UK by small boat since 2018, according to official figures. Further comments from the home secretary below:

Terrified pregnant British woman stranded in war-torn Sudan ‘could give birth at any moment’

08:15 , Maroosha Muzaffar

A terrified pregnant British woman stranded in war-torn Sudan with her family fears she could give birth at any moment as they battle to flee the country.

The woman’s older sister Saryah Elwasila, 29, said the family of five, who were in the country visiting family for Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr when fierce clashes erupted, had been forced to flee Khartoum to the city of Wad Madani in the neighbouring state of Gezira, without food, power, fuel, very little water and money. There is also no functioning hospital nearby if the woman goes into labour after many were bombed and doctors fled.

The family has been robbed twice by looters who are raiding abandoned areas, leaving them with only their passports, a small amount of money and the clothes they were wearing.

The British government announced on Tuesday morning that it would begin evacuation flights for UK nationals from Sudan following an agreed 72-hour ceasefire but Elwasila said her family had heard nothing from British authorities. Without fuel, they fear they have now lost their last slim chance of escape.

Which countries are evacuating citizens from Sudan?

07:45 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Hundreds of foreign nationals have been safely evacuated from Sudan where continued fighting threatens to plunge the African country deeper into chaos

Which countries are evacuating citizens from Sudan?

‘Very limited’ contact from Foreign Office

07:24 , Matt Mathers

The son of a British citizen trying to escape Sudan has said his family have had "very limited" contact from the Home Office.

Saleh El-Khalifa, whose mother is attempting to flee Sudan with her elderly father, said the Home Office advice to stay indoors had not been a "viable option".

His mother was forced to make a journey to Port Sudan with her 86-year-old father, who suffers from a terminal illness, and is trying to cross the border into Saudi Arabia, he said.

Mr Khalifa told BBC Breakfast the journey was "beyond challenging" and that information from the Home Office had been "very limited", adding: "It could be points that I’m not able to speak to her for a day or two.

"The first few days me and my sister tried to contact (the Home Office). The advice was the same, to stay in doors and not move. That wasn’t a viable option as there was no guarantee of their safety by staying in one location.

"That is why the majority of people have had to move to ensure their own life and safety, which is a situation no-one should have to be put in.

"It is at the point now where my mum might be trying to get into Saudi Arabia as she believes it would be a safer route back to the UK as opposed to being told at the last moment where these flights are taking off.

"We heard about one of the first flights yesterday that it was only on the ground for less than half an hour and the location was being shared very minimally.

"Even if my mum had been told of the right time, the timeframe she would have had to get there would have been almost impossible."

Bashir-era official wanted by ICC escapes jail after reports of prison break

07:15 , Andy Gregory

Ahmed Haroun, a former Sudanese official who served under Omar al-Bashir and is wanted by the International Criminal Court, said that he and other former officials of Bashir’s government had left Kober prison and would take responsibility for their own protection

Mr Haroun also said they were ready to appear in front of the judiciary whenever it was functioning, in a statement aired on Sudan’s Tayba TV on Tuesday.

The statement comes after reports that prisoners at Kober prison, which held Bashir and other top deputies, had staged a break earlier this week. It was not immediately clear if Bashir, who has spent extended periods in a military hospital, was at the prison.

Second flight carrying Britons from Sudan lands in Cyprus

06:54 , Maroosha Muzaffar

The second flight carrying British nationals from Sudan landed in Cyprus this morning, reports said.

Trapped British nationals were told to make their own way to an airstrip near the Sudanese capital Khartoum, where an RAF military plane picked them up and flew them to Larnarca International Airport.

Three planes were due to have left conflict-torn Khartoum for Cyprus by this morning, with prime minister Rishi Sunak pledging “many more” would follow as he warned of a “critical” 24 hours.

Sudanese refugees face deportation from UK as government fails to set up safe and legal routes

06:45 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Sudanese refugees face being criminalised and deported from the UK because there are no safe and legal routes for most people fleeing the conflict.

The British government is not planning to set up a bespoke scheme for the country like those used for Ukraine and Afghanistan, The Independent understands and is only evacuating British citizens and embassy staff.

Almost 4,000 Sudanese small-boat migrants have crossed the English Channel since 2020, and they are already the eighth-highest nationality using the route.

When questioned at an event in central London on Tuesday, immigration minister Robert Jenrick suggested he expected a rise in Sudanese small boat crossings, saying it was “likely that, in time, there will be migratory effects” of the crisis.

Mr Jenrick insisted that the government did “have safe and legal routes, more broadly”, but maintained its position that “those in peril should seek sanctuary in the first safe country they reach”.

More from Lizzie Dearden,Bel Trew:

UK fails to set up safe and legal route for refugees fleeing Sudan

It was right to evacuate diplomats first, says Sunak

06:15 , Andy Gregory

Rishi Sunak has defended the UK’s decision to evacuate British diplomats before helping ordinary citizens leave Sudan.

Asked on Tuesday about accusations that the government is not doing enough to help citizens Khartoum, the PM said: “I’m pleased that we were actually one of the first countries to safely evacuate our diplomats and our families. And it was right that we prioritised them because they were being targeted.

“The security situation on the ground in Sudan is complicated, it is volatile and we wanted to make sure we could put in place processes that are going to work for people, that are going to be safe and effective.”

Turks evacuated from Sudan arrive in Istanbul

06:06 , Maroosha Muzaffar

The first Turkish civilians evacuated from Sudan returned to Turkey on Wednesday, with more than 100 people arriving by plane at Istanbul Airport, Reuters footage showed.

The Turks came from the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, where they had arrived overland from the Sudanese capital Khartoum.

Several more flights were expected later on Wednesday to evacuate the remaining Turkish citizens crossing to Ethiopia from Sudan.

Fighting flared anew in Sudan late on Tuesday despite a ceasefire declaration by the warring factions as more people fled Khartoum and former officials, including one facing international war crimes charges, left prison.

Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan has called on both sides in Sudan to end the conflict and return to negotiations.

Reuters

Woman trapped near Sudan army base pleads for evacuation: ‘Please save me and my son’

05:45 , Maroosha Muzaffar

A Sudanese woman married to an Indian man has issued a desperate appeal to be evacuated having been left stranded – along with her 21-month-old son – by the fighting in the country.

“Please help me and my son,” Baraah Abaker, 23, says – as countries, including India, scramble to evacuate their citizens.

Fighting began earlier this month between forces loyal to General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of Sudan’s army, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti.

Abaker was in her final year at Bahri University when her husband Abdul Haseeb left for India in October last year for work. He left their Indian passport-holding son with her.

A veterinary doctor in her final year, Abaker was to take her exams before returning to her husband in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad.

More by Namita Singh here:

Woman trapped in Sudan pleads for evacuation: ‘Please save me and my son’

Rishi Sunak pledges ‘many more’ Sudan evacuation flights as he warns next 24 hour is critical

05:15 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Rishi Sunak has pledged “many more” evacuation flights in what will be a “critical” 24 hours as ministers scramble to rescue Britons from war-torn Sudan.

The prime minister said more than 1,000 people had been contacted, of an estimated 4,000 in the country, and many were making their way to an airfield outside Khartoum.

But the government was forced to defend the timing and handling of the evacuation effort amid claims it had taken its “eye off the ball”.

Ministers denied Britons should have been evacuated earlier after Germany announced it would complete its operation overnight.

It came as Alicia Kearns, chair of the foreign affairs select committee, urged the government “to commit as many resources as quickly as possible” to the rescue because “there is a very real danger fighting will return”.

No sign Sudan warring parties ready to negotiate, UN says

04:44 , Maroosha Muzaffar

A US-brokered ceasefire in Sudan appears to be partially holding but there is no sign the warring parties are ready to seriously negotiate, the UN special envoy on Sudan said yesterday.

This suggested “that both think that securing a military victory over the other is possible,” envoy Volker Perthes told the UN Security Council. “This is a miscalculation.”

Fighting broke out between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on 15 April. Both parties agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire beginning on Tuesday after negotiations mediated by the United States and Saudi Arabia.

“It seems to be holding in some parts so far. However, we also hear continuing reports of fighting and movement of troops,” said Perthes, who spoke via video from Port Sudan.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the violence and chaos in Sudan as “heartbreaking.”

The power struggle puts Sudan’s future at risk and could cause suffering for years and set back development for decades, Mr Guterres said.

The United Nations has moved hundreds of staff and family members to Port Sudan from Khartoum.

The United Nations plans to establish a hub in Port Sudan to continue working in the country where, even before the violence broke out, nearly 16 million people - one-third of the population - were in need of humanitarian aid.

Reuters

Britons experiencing fuel shortages must still make own way to airport, says minister

04:42 , Andy Gregory

British citizens in Sudan who are experiencing fuel shortages must still make their own way to the Wadi Saeedna airstrip in Khartoum to be evacuated, the UK’s Africa minister Andrew Mitchell has said.

“Travel within Sudan is conducted at British nationals’ own risk and plans may change depending on the security situation,” he told MPs, adding that he has “enormous sympathy” for British citizens facing travel difficulties within Sudan.

People who have registered with the Foreign Office should receive contact from the department at least once a day, he said, in what appeared to be a reference to automated messages.

Mr Mitchell added: “The atmospherics in Khartoum hinder that sort of communication. Yesterday there was 2 per cent internet – that does make communicating extremely difficult but in principle that has been what we have tried to achieve. The system is working but it is spasmodic.”

ICYMI: Dodging bullets and paying thousands: How these British families escaped war torn Sudan

04:30 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Families watched as fighter jets roared overhead and bombs landed just a few kilometres from them as they were forced to hide, Bel Trew and Tara Cobham report:

Dodging bullets and paying thousands: How these families escaped wartorn Sudan

Sudan conflict explained: What’s happening in Khartoum?

04:04 , Maroosha Muzaffar

Fighting has erupted in Sudan’s capital city Khartoum and other sites across the country this month as powerful rival military factions battle for control of the African nation and its future.

So far, over 420 people, including 264 civilians, have been killed in the conflict and over 3,700 wounded.

The sudden slide into violence between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary group called Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has stranded thousands of foreigners, including diplomats and aid workers in the country, with the UK, US, France, Germany, Italy, Greece, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states among those closing their embassies and working to evacuate their nationals.

Read the full story here:

What is happening in Sudan? The conflict crisis explained

Washington is talking to leaders on both sides of conflict, says White House

03:31 , Andy Gregory

United States president Joe Biden’s national security team is continuing to talk to military leaders from both sides of the Sudan conflict to support a durable end to the conflict, the White House has said.

The US is working with partners and Sudanese civilian groups to work toward a permanent ceasefire and humanitarian arrangements, spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday.

Battle in Sudan's capital risks awakening war in Darfur

01:20 , Reuters

Darfur inhabitants fear battles between Sudan’s rival military leaders could reawaken war in the vast and largely desert region already scarred by a two-decade-old conflict.

The Darfur conflict originated around 2003-2004, pitting rebels against government forces backed by horse-riding militia known as “Janjaweed” in violence that killed some 300,000 people and uprooted millions from their homes.

Despite repeated peace deals, the conflict has simmered ever since, with violence rising in the past two years. Now the conflict which began in Khartoum between Sudan’s army and RSF paramilitary, who had been ruling together during a political transition, has quickly spread to Darfur.

Residents and sources have reported pillaging, ethnic reprisal attacks, and clashes between the two military factions in various population centres around the farming and nomadic region that is roughly the size of France.

Local mediation has helped cool the strife in the main cities of Nyala and al-Fashir, but shelling and looting have continued in the town of Genena, leaving Darfuris fearing another major explosion of warfare.

“If this continues, if we get the killing of military commanders that are a part of influential tribes, then it’ll be anarchy. There will be tribal mobilisation,” said Ahmed Gouja, a journalist and rights activist in Nyala.

For Sudan’s warring leaders, Darfur is as familiar as it is strategically important. Army chief Abdel-Fattah Burhan rose through the army ranks while fighting in Darfur. RSF chief Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo got his start as a leader of one of the militias which did much of the government side’s fighting during the Darfur conflict, inflicting an outsize proportion of the violence.

As the army now tries to push his RSF fighters from positions across Khartoum, the group could fall back on its roots in Darfur to try to regroup and raise reinforcements.

UK to assume control of airfield from Germany, says Ben Wallace

Wednesday 26 April 2023 00:13 , Andy Gregory

The UK will take over from German forces running the Wadi Saeedna airfield on Wednesday, defence secretary Ben Wallace has said.

“The Germans are leaving tomorrow, and we will take over the facilitation at the airfield,” he told LBC. “And the reason the Germans are leaving is people have stopped coming in large numbers.”

Only one nation can facilitate the airfield at a time, Mr Wallace said, adding: “If the Spanish or the Italians or anyone else wants to fly, we’ll be the ones giving permissions effectively.”

The minister also said that 99 per cent of the British nationals who have registered with the Foreign Office did so in Khartoum.

Hundreds of British nationals expected to be evacuated overnight

Tuesday 25 April 2023 23:01 , Andy Gregory

Some 260 people in total are expected to be evacuated on three British flights tonight, with the first plane to land in Cyprus having carried 39 people, according to the BBC.

The Independent understands the overnight figure to be in line with official estimates.

UK can ‘take who turns up’ at evacuation area, says Wallace

Tuesday 25 April 2023 22:07 , Andy Gregory

The British military is ready to “take who turns up” at the evacuation area in Sudan and the situation is “not like Kabul”, defence secretary Ben Wallace has said.

“We have got two plane loads that will go out tonight. We can take really who turns up at the moment,” he told Channel 4 News earlier.

“What we’ve learned from both seeing the German and the French evacuation is, this is first of all, not like Kabul, not thousands at the gate and people are making their way, they’re being processed. We have a Border Force and Foreign Office team on the ground, and then we’re loading them up.

“I think there is some risk that some of the planes are not full. We’ve seen that in the German planes and they’ve then resorted, understandably, to take some other fellow foreign personnel there if there’s room.”

Mr Wallace added: “As I’m giving this interview right now one of the planes is loading, and there’ll be another one tonight and then there’ll be a number of planes tomorrow as well.”

UK government could not have predicted battle for ‘raw power’ in Sudan, minister insists

Tuesday 25 April 2023 21:15 , Andy Gregory

The UK’s minister for Africa has denied that the government should have seen the conflict in Sudan coming.

“This isn’t an ideological battle, this is a battle between two generals for power,” Andrew Mitchell told MPs on the Commons foreign affairs committee.

“There is no ideology involved in this, it’s raw power being fought over. One might have hoped that this would never happen given the appalling humanitarian jeopardy it has placed so many people in.”

The minister added: “We would not have expected that these two generals would have slugged it out in this way on a totally non-ideological issue, let alone deploy heavy weapons in built-up areas.”

Questioned on next steps, Mr Mitchell went on: “What is urgently required is a ceasefire, for the combatants to lay down their arms and return to barracks and for the political process, which was moving forward significantly before the second week of April, for that to reassert itself.”

Sudan will experience a ‘humanitarian catastrophe’, MPs told

Tuesday 25 April 2023 21:08 , Andy Gregory

Sudan will experience a “humanitarian catastrophe”, the UK’s minister for Africa has said.

Andrew Mitchell told the Foreign Affairs Committee that the lack of food supplies and humanitarian relief workers will lead to such a crisis, with most humanitarian staff living with little prospect of returning without a ceasefire.

“Five of them have already been murdered,” he said.

First UK evacuation flight lands in Cyprus, carrying 39 people

Tuesday 25 April 2023 20:23 , Andy Gregory

The first flight evacuating UK civilians from Sudan has landed at Larnaca airport in Cyprus, with 39 people on board, the BBC has reported, citing British officials.

Around 260 people in total are expected to be flown out of the war-torn nation overnight on three separate flights, according to the broadcaster.

UK evacuees should ‘ideally’ be ‘pre-cleared’ when they reach airfield, says minister

Tuesday 25 April 2023 20:05 , Andy Gregory

The UK’s Africa minister Andrew Mitchell has told MPs that people seeking evacuation from Sudan should “ideally” be “pre-cleared” before they arrive at the airstrip having been in touch with the Foreign Office.

“Otherwise we are expecting them to have a British passport and so far I’m not aware of any problems in that process,” he said.

Those stuck in Sudan have been grappling with internet outages and several have criticised a lack of personal contact from the embassy and Foreign Office prior to today, prompting some to seek to escape the country themselves.

Dr Lina Badr, 42, an NHS gynaecologist who has hired a $20,000 bus along with several fellow Britons in a bid for the Egyptian border, told The Independent of the frantic nature of their departure, having at one point been forced to escape heavy gunfire, saying: “Some of us… were not able to bring passports, some have passports which are expired.”

British grandfather, 85, stuck in Sudan without food or water – despite living next to embassy

Tuesday 25 April 2023 19:32 , Andy Gregory

Azhar Sholgami, a researcher at Cornell University in the US has told The Independent that her British grandfather, aged 85, has been left trapped on the frontline without water or food – despite living directly opposite the British Embassy.

“The RSF raided and looted his home, they took water and food they had. There is no electricity or phone connection so we have no contact with him,” she said of her grandfather, Abdalla Sholgami, a retired businessman.

“We have called different people in the embassy to help for the last eight or nine days,” said Ms Sholgami, adding: “My grandfather always said he is happy to live next to the British Embassy because if anythinggoes wrong they are just next door. It’s super disappointing.

“The least they could have done is knock on the door and given him a single bottle of water when they left but they didn’t even do that,” she said.

German minister appears to make dig at UK evacuation of embassy staff

Tuesday 25 April 2023 18:58 , Andy Gregory

Germany’s foreign minister appeared to take a dig at the UK government’s decision to first evacuate embassy staff as she announced that Berlin’s final evacuation flight would depart Khartoum this evening, with German citizens still stranded in Sudan to be evacuated by other nations.

Annalena Baerbock told reporters: “It was important to us that, unlike in other countries, an evacuation not only applies to our embassy staff but to all local Germans and our partners.

“Almost 500 people from 30 countries were flown out of Khartoum thanks to our support – that is a huge achievement.

The fact that our citizens abroad can also rely on not being left to their own devices in an emergency is not a bureaucratic matter of course. It is the result of courage, teamwork and tireless dedication on the part of many hundreds of people involved in the German armed forces, the federal police and the Foreign Office.”

Praising three officials who flew to Khartoum to help the evacuation for their “impressive” willingness to enter “such a crisis situation voluntarily as civilians”, she added that Berlin was continuing to work on ways to rescue remaining citizens there, “be it with flights from partners, by land or by sea”.

Dodging bullets and paying thousands: How these British families escaped war-torn Sudan

Tuesday 25 April 2023 18:27 , Andy Gregory

British families fleeing Sudan have told The Indepenent of dodging heavy gunfire and bombing in their bids to escape the war-torn country after the Foreign Office “failed” to secure safe routes out.

Many have spent thousands to escape the country themselves, having given up on the Foreign Office after days without any communication bar automatic emails telling them to shelter in place.

“I completely lost hope in the system. Until this morning, I have not received anything about a solid evacuation plan. Just advice to stay indoors and call for any psychological support,” said NHS gynaecologist and Dr Lina Bahr, from the Egyptian border, where she hoped to cross to safety.

“With no connection we had to make a decision. We took the risk,” said the mother of three, who hired a bus with other Britons for $20,000 in order to escape after stray bullets ripped through her family’s living room, food and supplies ran out and her two-year-old became sick.

While more than 2,000 people have registered themselves with the Foreign Office for help, Dr Bahr’s husband Ousama Suliman, also an NHS doctor, said: “Everyone I know has pretty much made the journey by road to Egypt.

“Most of the people who have registered with Foreign Office are not going to be there to evacuate. When the hotline numbers don’t work, when you can’t get through to anyone and then you hear the diplomats, the embassy has been evacuated, you panic.”

Our international correspondent Bel Trew and reporter Tara Cobham have the full report:

Dodging bullets and paying thousands: How these families escaped war-torn Sudan

Next 24 hours are ‘absolutely critical’, Sunak tells officials working on evacuation

Tuesday 25 April 2023 17:55 , Andy Gregory

Rishi Sunak has said that the next 24 hours are “absolutely critical” in the evacuation of British nationals from Sudan as he urged staff at the Foreign Office’s crisis hub in central London to “keep at it”.

Thanking the teams working on the evacuation, the prime minister said: “Your efforts are really, really helping, making a huge difference.

“Keep at it ... The next 24 hours are absolutely critical. We can make a big push as we’re already doing and you can help us get everyone who wants to come home home.”

Africa minister Andrew Mitchell, who met Mr Sunak in the crisis hub alongside foreign secretary James Cleverly, told him 200 people are working on the UK efforts day and night.

British and Irish citizens describe trying to leave Sudan

Tuesday 25 April 2023 17:31 , Andy Gregory

Britain’s military stands ready to defend airfield if necessary, says No 10

Tuesday 25 April 2023 17:08 , Andy Gregory

Britain’s military stands ready to defend the airfield north of Khartoum where UK citizens were told to travel “as soon as possible” this afternoon, No 10 has said.

But efforts will be made to avoid “active engagement” with other forces, Rishi Sunak’s official spokesperson said.

Speaking as the government seeks to avoid a repeat of the scenes during the evacuation of Kabul in 2021, the spokesperson said: “It’s worth emphasising that international evacuations have been taking place since Sunday and we haven’t seen any significant issues ... or large crowds appearing.”

UK has ‘capacity’ to take over airfield once German forces leave, says No 10

Tuesday 25 April 2023 16:44 , Andy Gregory

Downing Street has said that the UK has the “capacity” to take over from German forces running the Wadi Saeedna airfield near Khartoum, where British nationals hoping to be evacuated were ealier told to travel to.

“The Germans are currently running the site, the strip there,” said Rishi Sunak’s official spokesperson. “I think should they choose to leave, and there’s no indication of that, we have the capacity to take over running that site so that should mean we would continue to allow flights to run in and out.”

Defence secretary Ben Wallace previously told MPs that the UK’s evacuation at the airfield could not start until “the Germans leave”. Berlin said its last flight would take place this evening, and that German nationals still stranded in Sudan would be evacuated by other nations.

First UK evacuation flight takes off

Tuesday 25 April 2023 16:12 , Andy Gregory

The first flight carrying British nationals has left Sudan, with two more planned overnight, Downing Street has said.

“The first flight has left and you can expect that there will be at least two more flights overnight tonight but that is subject to change,” Rishi Sunak’s official spokesperson told reporters.

British national says ‘no clarity’ on UK evacuation

Tuesday 25 April 2023 16:10 , Andy Gregory

A British national sheltering in Khartoum has said there is currently “no clarity” in the government’s plans to evacuate UK citizens stuck in Sudan.

Nadir Omara, 56, a consultant psychiatrist who usually works in Madani, south of the capital, had travelled to Khartoum to celebrate Eid with friends and family on 13 April, two days before fighting broke out.

“You have to bear in mind that the communications are very intermittent [and] haphazard - sometimes they do work, sometimes they don’t,” said Mr Omara.

“I have already sent an email to the local MP, James Cleverly, and Rishi Sunak that we need more guidance. The numbers for the embassy or consulate services weren’t reachable, so we had to rely on watching the news and services here. That’s very difficult.

“I did get an email today about the evacuation [but] there’s no clarity as to how that is going to be conducted, other than the priority is for the elderly and people with families.”

Food, water and medicine shortages in Sudan becoming ‘extremely acute’, warns UN

Tuesday 25 April 2023 15:55 , Andy Gregory

Shortages of essentials such as food and water are worsening around Khartoum and prices for basic goods are skyrocketing, the United Nations has warned.

“After 10 days of fighting, shortages of food, water, medicines and fuel are becoming extremely acute, especially in Khartoum and surrounding areas,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.

It also cited reports that the cost of basic goods had surged, saying prices for bottled water had doubled, and said cash was scarce and hard to access.

Tens of thousands of people have already fled the conflict into Egypt, Chad and South Sudan. But the cost of escaping is soaring – with one Khartoum resident telling Reuters that a bus fare to Egypt had risen nearly six-fold to the equivalent of £275, and was only increasing “every day”.

UK evacuations ‘waiting for Germans to leave’ airfield, says Ben Wallace

Tuesday 25 April 2023 15:39 , Adam Forrest – Political Correspondent

The Independent understands that the government hopes the evacuation flights will start around 5pm or 6pm (UK time).

But defence secretary Ben Wallace has made clear that the UK operation can’t start until the Germans leave.

Asked by senior Tory MP Tobias Ellwood when the UK flights would begin, Mr Wallace said: “If and when Germans leave. The Germans are running the airport at the moment. So if and when the Germans leave.

“I can’t speculate on the Germans. They are responding to the condition of the flow of their citizens and their nationals.”

Sudanese refugees face deportation from UK as government fails to set up safe and legal routes

Tuesday 25 April 2023 15:21 , Andy Gregory

Our home affairs editor Lizzie Dearden and international correspondent Bel Trew report:

Sudanese refugees face being criminalised and deported from the UK because there are no safe and legal routes for most people fleeing the conflict.

The British government is not planning to set up a bespoke scheme for the country like those used for Ukraine and Afghanistan, The Independent understands, and is only evacuating British citizens and embassy staff.

The Independent has been told that some Sudanese relatives of British nationals have been denied temporary visas and excluded from evacuation flights, including the 87-year-old grandmother of a British doctor.

“The Foreign Office just contacted my father and told him they can only evacuate him and his sister, but not my grandmother as she is not a British citizen,” the doctor who is calling herself Dr A to protect her family, told this newspaper on Tuesday.

“The UK cannot expect him to evacuate, leaving his 87-year-old mother on her own in the middle of war in Khartoum. The house is located close to the fighting at the airport. It is inhuman. This is not acceptable. My father will not leave his mother behind, he will not leave.”

UK fails to set up safe and legal route for refugees fleeing Sudan