22 April 2023 , 20:43
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Special forces are on standby to evacuate Brits trapped in Sudan as the country is ravaged by civil war.
Up to 120 SAS and a company of paratroopers are at the forefront of a plan to airlift embassy staff and UK citizens.
The US, France and China are also poised to get their people out as the conflict escalates.
More than 400 people have been killed and 3,500 injured, while 20,000 are said to have fled to neighbouring Chad, says the UN.
Capital Khartoum has been the centre of two weeks of fighting between the army and a paramilitary group.
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Black smoke rising above the Khartoum International Airport amid ongoing battles between the forces of two rival generals (AFP via Getty Images)They are led by two rival generals – who yesterday agreed to help foreigners evacuate by air.
There are about 50 staff at the UK embassy, hundreds of British nationals and thousands of civilians with dual nationality.
A fire broke out after a house was hit in the Lamab district of Khartoum (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)A Sudanese former minister told the BBC: “There are rotting bodies of our youth in the streets. We are out of water for six days.”
An evacuation plan would be similar to one carried out in Libya in 2012 when RAF Hercules aircraft, supported by the SAS, rescued hundreds from desert landing strips.
Smoke rises during clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)It is being led by Lieutenant General Charles Strickland, a former Royal Marine with combat experience in Afghanistan.
A source said: “The situation is extremely volatile. Going into Khartoum looks unrealistic. The best option may be evacuation from outside.”
The aftermath of intense shelling and gunfights between soldiers and gunmen from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)The UK Government said it was preparing for “a number of contingencies” and “doing everything possible to support British nationals and diplomatic staff”.