Spain carried out a successful evacuation of its citizens who were trapped in Sudan. AP
Spain carried out a successful evacuation of its citizens who were trapped in Sudan. AP
Spain carried out a successful evacuation of its citizens who were trapped in Sudan. AP
Spain carried out a successful evacuation of its citizens who were trapped in Sudan. AP

Families plead for help to rescue relatives from Sudan


Nicky Harley
  • English
  • Arabic

Follow the latest news from the Sudan crisis here

British families have been making pleas for help to find their relatives and evacuate them from Sudan amid accusations many have been abandoned by government rescue efforts.

A number of nations have completed operations to remove their citizens from the country as fighting raged for a 10th day between forces loyal to two rival generals.

Clashes between army and paramilitary forces have led to people being trapped indoors, enduring acute shortages of water, food, medicine and fuel as well as power and internet blackouts, the UN said.

British doctor Javid Abdelmoneim, a former UK president of the humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders (MSF), has been trying to organise the rescue of his elderly father.

He was last in touch with the 80 year old at the weekend and his father had chosen to stay in Sudan on the advice of the British embassy, the doctor said.

Dr Abdelmoneim criticised the British government for the “avoidable” situation his father is now in.

"With the expectation of a UK evacuation, my dad declined a family invite to travel overland to Egypt and skipped another family convoy to Port Sudan," he tweeted.

"It transpires, the UK evacuation had happened 18hrs previously, in secrecy, and actively reduced his chances of reaching safety. The UK government communication, both public and private to my dad and sister, has actively reduced the chances of him reaching safety. Enough said."

With the communication networks down, he now fears for his father's safety.

"Window of opportunity for my dad to leave Sudan safely is closing, a matter of hours now, as my last two family groups plan their departure today," he said.

"Internet down, international calls blocked, local network patchy. We have no way of knowing that he can get to them. All this [was] avoidable."

Iman Abugarga, a British woman who has been sheltering in Khartoum, said she feels abandoned by the British government.

“It is shameful how they have mismanaged this situation,” she told the Telegraph.

The UK government's response to fighting in Sudan is under increasing scrutiny, with the Foreign Office accused of abandoning British civilians and failing to learn lessons from the evacuation of Kabul.

William, a UK citizen in Sudan, told the BBC he was forced to “go private” to leave Khartoum on a bus arranged by his Sudanese employer because “we’ve had absolutely nothing but nonsense from the government”.

British citizen Jim Gardoufy, who managed to get out of Khartoum, defended the government.

“I'm a British national currently in Sudan,” he said.

“Thankfully, I was able to get out of Khartoum and am in another state. The fact of the matter is it would be very difficult to co-ordinate a mass evacuation of citizens. You'd likely need them to meet en masse at a specific location.”

London doctor Shaza Faycal’s young children, brother and mother are stuck in Khartoum after travelling to the Sudanese capital to celebrate Eid Al Fitr.

She said she was “quite stressed” and called for help to get British citizens home.

British-Sudanese woman Rozan Ahmed is trapped in Khartoum after travelling to the country to attend a funeral.

“I have been hiding under my bed for the last six hours, the area where I stay has been shelled to shreds,” she told Sky News.

“I have heard nothing but explosions and gunfire. On top of that, we have to deal with rogue soldiers walking around our streets, raiding our homes, and then we don’t have water.

“This has been the most harrowing experience of my life and my only focus right now is to get to my mother, who is probably more pained than I am.”

Elmugiera Hafazalla, a 56-year-old delivery driver and medical translator from Manchester, is trapped in Khartoum after flying out for a family wedding.

“He's all right, but they've been advised to stay indoors, so he's not really leaving the apartment,” his son Hakim, 24, told the Manchester Evening News.

“There's no reliable running water, so he's only going outside to get groceries and water.

“There's been a lot of shelling in the area where they are staying. It's literally on their doorstep. A neighbour's windows were blown in by the shock waves and in the video you can see the impact from where a shell has hit the apartments.

“He's trying to find a way out of the country. He considered trying to cross into Egypt but apparently the border is not very safe right now.”

At least 427 people have been killed and more than 3,700 wounded to date, according to UN agencies, which also reported Sudanese civilians “fleeing areas affected by fighting, including to Chad, Egypt and South Sudan”.

More than 4,000 British citizens could still be stuck in Sudan awaiting evacuation, said Alicia Kearns, chairwoman of the UK’s Foreign Affairs Select Committee.

She said people in Sudan were “terrified” and living in “abject fear”, most of them with little water and food left.

Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company

The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.

He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.

“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.

“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.

HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon. 

With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.

Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

Living in...

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Quick pearls of wisdom

Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”

Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.” 

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
Updated: April 25, 2023, 5:41 AM