A British teacher who has been trapped in Sudan's capital for a week has called out the Foreign Office for its disorganised and failed approach to save its citizens as bombs drop mere miles away.
Speaking to the Mirror just minutes after news broke, from the Sudanese army, that diplomats and nationals from the US, UK, France and China are to be evacuated, William from Coventry said there are no signs this is happening.
"My very strong sense is that this is misinformation. We did have one official communication from the embassy this morning, but on the face of it, it was very depressing.
"It 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."
William lives in a secure compound but is still trapped in the epicentre of the fighting in the capital Khartoum, where war erupted a week ago today following a clash between the country’s two top generals.
He says they heard nothing from the British government for about four days: "literally nothing."
He continues: "Then we got one of these regular travel advisories, sort of saying, Sudan is now a no travel place do not travel to Sudan. We all laughed at that.
"Luckily our son is in the UK, so he passed on my and my wife's information about our passports and then we were finally issued a number that he then WhatsApp back to us. So in other words, we are on a list now."
On Thursday morning, they were told to register their interest in being evacuated. "I clicked yes", he says and that is the extent of the efforts they have received.
The Prime Minister chaired a further COBR this morning with key ministers, including the Defence Secretary and African minister.
Last year the Foreign Office said it had “lessons to learn” from the chaotic 2022 evacuation from Afghanistan following the withdrawal of international forces.
"Kabul [Afghanistan's capital] casts a very long shadow over Khartoum right now,” Cameron Hudson, an analyst and consultant on African peace, security, and governance told CNN.
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.
"We had an explosion two kilometres away, there was a blast like I'd never known. It's the most scared I've ever been."
As for US citizens, one who wishes to stay anonymous tells the Mirror she has only received automated emails from the embassy.
"The impression we got is 'basically like you guys are on your own' and the extra slap in the face of, 'we basically told you that it wasn't safe, so if you decided that you're going to be there that's on you.'"
She says families back home are contacting their state representatives and their senators as well as putting together an online petition.
"We are trying to pressure the White House to make sure that they don't forget about the regular citizens that are here."
William is keen to emphasise their situation is far less critical than others and he worries for his students: "They are victims in the middle, the Sudanese people do not deserve this."
Katharina von Schroeder, a German national who works for Save the Children and has lived in Sudan for seven years, has been trapped in a school with her 8-year-old son for a week since she dropped him off for sports practice and the fighting began.
"I have worked in a lot of countries in Africa and I have never faced anything like this." Mid-call a deafening missile flies overheard, Katharina stays on the line as she runs to a cellar.
How has the last week made her feel? "I don't want to talk too openly near my son, I don't want to scare him", she seemingly asks him to move away, "We are really scared, of course, but I try not to make it about myself, at least we have hope. There are millions of people without hope."
It was reported an hour ago that a huge fire broke out inside Khartoum International Airport
Diplomats from Saudi Arabia have already been taken out of the coastal city of Port Sudan and Jordan's diplomats are due to follow suit.
The Pentagon has been moving more troops to the African nation of Djibouti to prepare for a possible evacuation of US Embassy staff in Sudan, according to the New York Times.
“There is no safe place anymore in Khartoum,” said Dallia Abdelmoniem, a 37-year-old baker who fled the Sudanese capital with her family on Thursday, after a rocket sliced through her roof.
The road to the city’s outskirts was littered with dead bodies and Abdelmoniem had to cover the eyes of her nieces and nephews.
The clashes have killed over 400 people so far, according to the World Health Organisation and the bombardments, gunbattles and sniper fire have been raining hell on densely populated areas, hitting civilian infrastructure.
A UK Government Spokesperson: “We recognise that the situation is extremely concerning for British nationals trapped by the fighting in Sudan. We are doing everything possible to support British nationals and diplomatic staff in Khartoum, and the Ministry of Defence is working with the Foreign Office to prepare for a number of contingencies.”
