The UK has evacuated its diplomatic staff and their dependants from Khartoum, the British prime minister and foreign secretary said on Sunday, but UK nationals still living in Sudan remained in the country.
Announcing the evacuation, Rishi Sunak said British armed forces had carried out “a complex and rapid” military operation. The evacuation involved members of UK special forces and the Parachute Regiment.
With UK citizens still trapped by the fighting in Khartoum, the news that diplomats have been prioritised is likely to cause deep concern, but James Cleverly, the UK foreign secretary, insisted the top priority remained the safety of British nationals.
He said the UK was working round the clock to broker international support to end the bloodshed in Sudan, which has pitted army units loyal to Sudan’s military ruler, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti.
Cleverly warned that UK Government efforts to provide assistance to those stuck in Sudan will remain “severely limited” until a ceasefire is reached. In the meantime, the government urged British citizens to register their location with the Foreign Office. Citizens were further advised to “shelter in place” and have their passports and travel documents to hand, where it is possible, if the fighting allows, that they could be rescued.
Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, said the operation to remove British embassy staff from Sudan involved more than 1,200 personnel from the British army, Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force (RAF). The operation was carried out in conjunction with the French military.
“This morning, UK Armed Forces undertook a military operation alongside the United States; France and other allies,” Wallace said in a written statement. “They have evacuated British embassy staff and their dependants from Khartoum due to the escalating threats against diplomats.
“The operation involved more than 1,200 personnel from 16 Air Assault Brigade; the Royal Marines and the RAF. I am grateful to all our partners.”
He implied that British troops had flown from RAF bases in Cyprus. Military sources added the SAS were involved, although the UK has a, standing policy of not commenting on the presence of special forces.
The Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary group claiming control of Khartoum airport, said six planes had been involved in the mass evacuation of diplomats, adding the rescue mission had been carried out with their full cooperation and knowledge.
It will be the task of diplomats including from Saudi Arabia to persuade Hemedti to allow further planes to land to take away foreign civilians.
British troops had been on the move since at least Friday via locations including Cyprus, with one military source saying “almost all Hereford”, a reference to the SAS, were among those involved in the emergency international effort.
Cleverly said: “Our duty to British nationals in Sudan remains our top priority alongside our international allies and other members of the international community and in response to direct threats targeting at the diplomatic community in Khartoum staff, we have taken the decision to temporarily close our embassy and to relocate our embassy staff. That gives us the best opportunity to project our diplomatic support back into Sudan.”
He added: “We have taken advantage of a temporary lull in the violence we have seen in Sudan but we remain absolutely committed to helping British nationals in Sudan in close coordination with our international partners. The best thing we can do to support British nationals is to support the generals involved in this conflict to bring it to an end”.
Defending the prioritisation of the diplomats, he said those working in the British embassy in Khartoum had been unable to carry out their functions because of the violence. He also said the UK had to fulfil “our duty to protect them as their employer we are relocating them to other embassies in the region”.
Asked why the British ambassador to Sudan and his deputy had both been in London throughout the crisis, he said: “Diplomats move in and out of our embassies as an inevitable part of their job. There was senior leadership still in the British embassy in Khartoum. Having the ambassador in the UK being able to give direct experience and knowledge to our crisis response centre here in London has proved to be invaluable.”
In a joint statement, shadow foreign secretary David Lammy and shadow defence secretary John Healey said: “We need to know about Government plans to help [British nationals] and the steps the UK is taking to support an immediate ceasefire.”
Their comments came after the Irish Government confirmed it planned to send a team to Sudan to evacuate Irish citizens.
In a sign that diplomats are becoming targets, the Sudanese army accused the rival RSF army of attacking and looting a Qatari convoy heading to Port Sudan. Doha released no immediate statement on any incident.
Egypt said a member of its mission in Sudan had been wounded by a gunshot, without giving details. The EU has said one of its diplomats was attacked in his home.
The former UK ambassador to Sudan Sir William Patey said Britain would be courting disaster if it was to try to evacuate British citizens without a clear understanding that they would be given safe passage by the warring parties.
“The diplomats themselves were unable to operate. So, they had to be evacuated and ironically with diplomats out of the country it is much easier to put pressure on the parties because you don’t have hostage if you like. The difficulty now is how to get British citizens out. That is a much more complex operation,” Patey said.
A British citizen named as William told Sky News he had heard nothing from the Foreign Office and wanted to know that a plane had been prepared to take them out.
The Foreign Office has left a note on the embassy website asking for British citizens to identify themselves and their whereabouts. The information is likely to be used by UK special forces to gather British citizens that want to leave once a ceasefire has been agreed and is seen to be holding.
William said it was not feasible for British citizens to get across the checkpoints in Khartoum and, in searing heat, take the 1,000km drive required to reach the Sudan border.
