Brits evacuated from Sudan by 1,200 armed forces personnel in 'complex' op

23 April 2023 , 12:26

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Smoke rises during clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (Image: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

British diplomats and their families have been evacuated from Sudan in a "complex" operation, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said.

More than 1,200 British military personnel, including Paratroopers, Royal Marines and Royal Air Force took part in an operation on Sunday, according to Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.

The UK worked alongside the US, France and other allies to evacuate their diplomats from the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.

The operation would have been very difficult as the conditions on the ground are intense — with no pause in fighting for more than 45 minutes.

In a statement posted on Twitter, the PM said: "UK armed forces have completed a complex and rapid evacuation of British diplomats and their families from Sudan, amid a significant escalation in violence and threats to embassy staff.

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"I pay tribute to the commitment of our diplomats and bravery of the military personnel who carried out this difficult operation.

People carrying their belongings walk along a street as fighting continues (AFP via Getty Images)

"We are continuing to pursue every avenue to end the bloodshed in Sudan and ensure the safety of British nationals remaining in the country. I urge the parties to lay down their arms and implement an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to ensure civilians can leave conflict zones."

While diplomats are heading home, the Mirror spoke to British nationals in Sudan who are not diplomats minutes after the news broke who said they have had no communication from the embassy.

On Saturday, about 70 American nationals were flown from a landing zone at the embassy to an undisclosed location in Ethiopia, an unnamed US official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the mission.

But the White House said it has no plans for a government-coordinated evacuation of American citizens trapped there.

A French national was shot during the country's evacuation from Sudan.

Yesterday, the Mirror spoke with a trapped British school teacher.

William, who wished to give no further details on his identity, said: "It [an email] basically said 'you're on your own, we're not going to mount any sort of effort at all.' So that's what we actually got officially this morning from the UK embassy."

Last year the Foreign Office said it had “lessons to learn” from the chaotic 2022 evacuation from Afghanistan following the withdrawal of international forces.

William thinks the government are likely silently hatching a plan, but says: "I have just wondered what the heck was happening. I think that was pretty inexcusable to have to leave us hanging for four or five days before we even asked whether we were even in Sudan."

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