25 April 2023 , 17:00
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A mum stranded in Sudan has fled to the Egyptian border with her three kids after UK officials took “too long” to evacuate Brits.
Gynaecologist Dr Lina Badr made the terrifying dash from Khartoum with her son, aged two, and daughters, 12 and 15, after the family home they were hiding in was struck by a missile.
The medic from Birmingham sent desperate messages home after she got trapped amid the conflict while on an annual holiday celebrating Eid with family.
But, with little information from UK officials and escalating violence, she made the decision to flee to the border, arriving on the day RAF planes finally launched an evacuation effort.
In a message to a friend she said: “Sadly, I have completely lost hope in the system...the UK Government response has been 12 days too long, forcing us civilians to risk our lives.”
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Her friend Ruksana Shain said Dr Badr was still in distress, her family now among thousands of people crowding at the Egypt border trying to get home.
Many people have escaped the country by bus in the ongoing clashes (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)“There are no facilities, no food, some people have been stuck there for days. It is a terrible situation,” she said.
Dr Badr’s husband, Ousama Suliman, 45, said his family was “petrified” after fighting erupted in the Al Amarat area of Khartoum where they were staying.
“They were all scared, the kids were very scared, it was getting louder,” he told the Mirror.
“I got messages from my daughter saying the fighting is getting closer and closer, it’s getting louder and louder.
“They were petrified. I said, ‘look, just stay indoors away from windows and doors.’”
As soon as a ceasefire was called, they made the decision to run for their lives, leaving at dawn.
The dad does not know how much his family paid for the coach journey to the border at Argeen, but heard some people were paying thousands of dollars.
He added: “They’ve been stuck at the border for 18 hours and I got a message from my wife saying that there’s talk they might just stay there in camps.
Thousands of British nationals are still believed to be stuck in Sudan (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)“Communication is very patchy, WhatsApp is very patchy. Also, when she runs out of battery and the battery bank is dead as well.
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“We want them to come back as soon as possible, back to normality. My daughter’s got a GCSE exam. We just want them to be safe.”
Ruksana said Dr Badr travelled to Sudan every year during the Easter holidays, but had received no indication from the Foreign Office that risks were higher this year.
She added: “The war has been going for 11 years or more and there is always unrest but not on this scale. Suddenly they found they could not leave the country.
“It has all been appalling, the communication has been terrible and of course, with intermittent wifi and phone lines it has been impossible.”
MP Preet Kaur Gill, Shadow Secretary of State for International Development, and Birmingham Edgbaston MP, said the mum has faced a “terrifying experience”, adding that “serious lessons” need to be learned.
She added: “They were there for the Easter holidays, with no advice not to travel, and now 11 days into the escalated conflict the Foreign Office is now acting to remove nationals.
“They were caught on the back foot and as a result my constituent has had to make her own way to a safe border, knowing the risks she was taking, because she did not trust our Government.
Dr Badr feels it is 'too dangerous' to wait for officials to help (AFP via Getty Images)“Thank God she is safe but her experience is not over yet. Serious lessons need to be learned from this ordeal - now in two separate conflicts the Government has let people down and acted too slowly.”
Meanwhile, a UK Sudanese Junior Doctors Association in a Whatsapp group with 71 trapped medics, said some British citizens had been contacted by the Foreign Office about being evacuated and are “anxiously” awaiting further instructions.
However evacuation flights are currently only open to UK passport holders and their immediate family members, and many of the trapped NHS medics are visa holders.
Dr Reem Taha told the Mirror: “We are still pleading with the government to consider adding them to the evacuation plan.”
Diplomats and embassy staff were airlifted out earlier this week in the face of threats posed by the civil war between the Sudanese army and rebel Rapid Support Forces.
Brits living or visiting the country have been told to stay indoors and "await instructions."