Foreign Secretary James Cleverly warned that the UK government is “severely limited” in its ability to help the approximately 4,000 British passport holders in Sudan until the conflict ends. Diplomats and staff in Sudan have been evacuated by governments around the world as rival generals battle for a ninth day with no sign of a truce. While world powers airlifted their diplomats from the capital of Khartoum, Sudanese citizens have tried to flee the chaos, with many risking dangerous roads to cross the northern border in Egypt.
Government Officials Attempt to Evacuate Citizens
More than 420 people have been killed, including 246 civilians, while over 3,700 have been injured in the conflict between the Sudanese army and a powerful paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces. Andrew Mitchell, the UK minister for International Development and Africa, told Sky News that there is an “enormous violence” in Sudan, and that the “absolute number one requirement is to get a ceasefire.” The UK government is currently in a “crisis mode” to facilitate the exit of British citizens as soon as it is safe to do so. The ongoing violence has impacted operations at the main international airport, destroying civilian planes and damaging at least one runway. Other countries have also managed to remove their citizens as well as their diplomats despite American officials saying it was too dangerous for a government-coordinated evacuation of thousands of private citizens. France and Italy have said they would accommodate all their citizens who wish to leave, along with those from other countries who could not otherwise join an evacuation operation.
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