Seventy-one NHS doctors stranded in Sudan are said to have “lost all hope” of being evacuated as their colleagues beg the government to act fast.
Dr Reem Taha, a trustee of UK Sudanese Junior Doctors Association, is in a Whatsapp group with 71 NHS doctors trapped amid the ongoing conflict.
Many had travelled with family members and children to celebrate Eid with relatives.
The NHS staff, who are a mixture of UK citizens and visa holders, quickly formed a Whatsapp group to stay in touch as the conflict escalated.
But in the last 24 hours, Dr Taha, 35, a junior doctor in South Yorkshire, has lost contact with most of them as internet connections in Sudan went down.
She told the Mirror: “They have been there to spend their holidays and celebrate Eid and got stuck.
“So far we have been hearing stories about some of them having to leave their own homes because they are near conflict. I am aware of one doctor who had to leave the city altogether with his wife and children.
“It is rapidly evolving every day. Some areas are quiet, others are under fire constantly.”
The NHS staff had been asked to register their details and whereabouts with UK officials but received no communication or evacuation plan.
Meanwhile, the British Embassy was emptied over the weekend.
Without any help from the Foreign Office, some are now considering fleeing on their own.
“It’s heartbreaking because we can see that they have managed to evacuate the diplomats and you can see other countries have managed to evacuate their citizens,” she added.
“So far, the British government has been very slow.
“The problem now is communication is becoming more and more difficult. Internet services are poor and international calls are not going through.
“We are just worried about them. I think they have lost all hope. The last communication I have had from one doctor on Sunday evening was that he was thinking of fleeing through Egypt - but we don’t know any more.”
Urging the Foreign Office to immediately begin an evacuation operation, she pleaded: “They need to act fast. There is a window here to evacuate these UK citizens and we are pleading that they evacuate the UK residents aswell. They live in the UK legally, they are NHS workers and we can’t afford to lose NHS doctors at the moment.
“Act quickly please. Help evacuate these UK citizens and residents and get them home safely.”
