Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
THE LAST OUT
British nationals in race to beat deadline for final Sudan flight
THE final British evacuation flight from Sudan was due to leave the war-torn country last night.
As the clock ticks down to the end of the uneasy ceasefire tonight, the Foreign Office deadline for fleeing Britons to get to an airbase near Khartoum passed.
The UK has evacuated more than 1,500 people from Sudan in recent days, but it remains unclear how many may still be trapped in the country .
The last flight approached as Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden chaired a COBRA meeting to discuss the situation in Khartoum ahead of the planned final evacuation flight from Wadi Saeedna airfield.
On Friday, he warned rescue planes were stopping by 8pm Sudan time yesterday – and the Foreign Office said those wanting to leave the country should be at the airbase by midday. A number of people have been airlifted from Sudan to Cyprus this week, before flying on to the UK. On Friday, the Foreign Office said 1,573 people had been evacuated on 13 UK flights.
The figures include Britons but also other nationalities including dependents. A 72-hour extension to the ceasefire between warring generals in Sudan expires at midnight local time.
Mr Dowden has denied the Government would “abandon” those unable to get to the airfield. Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy urged the Government not to “turn away” British residents without passports.
Africa minister Andrew Mitchell told the BBC on Saturday the operation to evacuate Britons and other nationals from Khartoum had been “extremely successful”. Speaking in Nairobi, the minister said it was right that the evacuation flights were ending.
“I don’t think there’s a single Brit in Khartoum who won’t know about the evacuation and the flow of people who have been coming to the airport indicate that is correct,” he said.
He said the situation at the Wadi Saeedna was “extremely dangerous”, citing a Turkish aircraft that came under fire on Friday. “We can’t stay there for ever in such dangerous circumstances,” he added.
Thousands of Sudanese people have fled across borders. The United Nations has said up to 20,000 refugees, mostly women and children, have crossed the western border to Chad.
People escaping the fighting in Khartoum face yet more obstacles, with paramilitary fighters said to be stopping refugees at roadblocks out of the capital and demanding phones and valuables be handed over.
Despite the ceasefire, residents said clashes continued yesterday around the presidential palace, HQ of the state broadcaster and a military base in Khartoum.
‘‘ The situation is extremely dangerous… we can’t stay there for ever