Sudan ceasefire extended, giving British evacuation mission more time

Fighting lull will allow Sudanese and foreign citizens to flee the country

A man is greeted by a family member after arriving at Stansted Airport from Sudan. Getty

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British citizens from Sudan may now have more time to leave the country after the rival forces agreed to a three-day extension of the ceasefire.

In a race to evacuate British citizens before midnight, when the earlier ceasefire was set to expire, the Royal Air Force had already evacuated nearly 900 people from near the capital Khartoum.

Flights were scheduled to continue regardless but Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the mission could become “impossible”, as intensifying clashes would have added extra pressure to the operation.

However, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces joined the Sudanese military in agreeing to extend the 72-hour truce that has led to a lull in the fighting that has allowed citizens and foreigners to flee.

Britain had been urging the rival generals to extend the ceasefire, which should help stave off a feared humanitarian crisis in Africa’s third largest country.

More than 2,000 British citizens in Sudan have registered under the evacuation plans but the true number needing help could be far higher.

As of 4pm on Thursday, the Foreign Office said that 897 people had been evacuated over eight RAF airlifts.

The Foreign Office, which has not said how many of the evacuees were Britons or foreign citizens, had been urging people to head to the airstrip where the evacuations were taking place before the ceasefire ended.

Sudan crisis latest — in pictures

A member of the Saudi Navy carries a child from a ship at Jeddah's port during the kingdom's evacuation of civilians from Sudan. Reuters

Indian nationals evacuated from Sudan arrive at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. EPA

Sudanese refugees queue to receive aid from the World Food Programme near the border between Sudan and Chad in Adre, Chad. Reuters

Tunisian citizens evacuated from Sudan leave a military aircraft upon their arrival at Tunis-Carthage International Airport. AFP

Indians evacuated from Sudan arrive on a flight at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, India. AP Photo

Moroccan nationals, who have been evacuated from Sudan, arrive at Mohammed V airport in Casablanca, Morocco. EPA

A boat with 1,687 civilians from more than 50 countries fleeing violence in Sudan, arrives at King Faisal naval base in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. AFP

RSF fighters in the East Nile district of greater Khartoum. AFP

Passengers disembark a plane from Djibouti at Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport near Paris after being evacuated from Sudan. AFP

Buildings destroyed in recent fighting in Khartoum, Sudan. AP

Passengers fleeing the fighting in Sudan arrive at Wadi Karkar bus station in Aswan, Egypt. EPA

Ali Mazloum, a Lebanese citizen who was evacuated from Sudan, is welcomed upon his arrival at Beirut airport. Reuters

A woman helps another after fleeing clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum. Reuters

Soldiers attend to Greek citizens evacuated from Sudan as they disembark from a military aircraft in Attica, Greece. EPA

People carry hibiscus juice and cold water for those being evacuated from Khartoum to Port Sudan. Reuters

Thais wait to be evacuated by boat at a port in Sudan. EPA

Greek citizens arrive from Sudan on a military plane in Elefsina, south of Athens. AFP

Japan's senior Vice Foreign Minister Shunsuke Takei welcomes his country's citizens in Djibouti after they were rescued from Sudan. AFP

A member of the Saudi Royal Navy carries a child who was rescued from Sudan, in Jeddah. Reuters

A military plane carrying evacuees arrives at Ciampino Airport near Rome, Italy. Reuters

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani greets the country's ambassador to Sudan, Michele Tommasi, as he arrives at Ciampino Airport. Reuters

South Korea's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Park Joon-yong, at a Saudi Air Force base in Jeddah, where he met diplomats from his country evacuated from Sudan by the kingdom's air force. Reuters

Having fled from Sudan, a South Korean nun disembarks from a military plane after landing at King Abdullah Air Base in Jeddah. AFP

People gather as they seek to escape the violence in Khartoum. Reuters

Spanish diplomatic personnel and citizens wait to disembark from a military plane after being evacuated from Sudan, in Djibouti. Reuters

A closed pharmacy and shops in the south of Khartoum as battles rage in the capital between the army and paramilitaries. AFP

Passengers from Sudan disembark from a Spanish Air Force plane at Torrejon Airbase in Madrid. AP

People evacuated from Sudan arrive at a military airport in Amman. AFP

Jordan was among those countries to have rapidly flown its citizens in Sudan to safety. AFP

This child was one of those to have arrived safely in Amman. AFP

A building in Khartoum burns as violence rages in Sudan. EPA

Italian citizens are flown out of the Sudanese capital on a military aircraft. Reuters

The fighting has caused heavy damage to parts of Khartoum. EPA

Indonesian citizens travel on a bus during an evacuation operation in Khartoum. EPA

A Spanish military aircraft takes off from Khartoum as European countries rescue citizens from Sudan. Reuters

Jordanians arrive at a military airport in Amman after their evacuation from Sudan to escape the fighting. AP

French troops arrive at an air base in Djibouti to prepare to evacuate about 100 people from Sudan. AFP

Smoke rises from buildings during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese army in Khartoum. Reuters

Saudis are met by Saudi Royal Navy staff as they arrive at Jeddah on the Red Sea after being evacuated from Sudan. Reuters

The streets of southern Khartoum bear the scars of fighting between two factions of the Sudanese military. AFP

A convoy leaves Khartoum for Port Sudan as fighting between military factions in the Sudanese capital continues. AFP

A civilian convoy leaving Khartoum for Port Sudan. AFP

Saudi citizens and people of other nations are evacuated by the Saudi Royal Navy from Port Sudan to escape the conflict. Reuters

A photo from October 2017 of the US embassy in Khartoum. AFP

Saudi citizens are met by Saudi Royal Navy staff as they arrive at Jeddah after being evacuated from Sudan. Reuters

Smoke hangs over Khartoum as factions belonging to the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces go back to trading gunfire after a ceasefire failed. AP

The flights were however scheduled to run past midnight and about 1,000 people are expected to have been flown to safety by Friday morning.

Military chiefs say they have the capacity to fly at least 500 people per day out of the Wadi Saeedna airfield, north of Khartoum.

Mr Cleverly warned that the resumption of fighting could jeopardise the evacuation efforts.

“We cannot predict exactly what will happen when that ceasefire ends, but what we do know is it will be much, much harder, potentially impossible,” he told Sky News.

“So, what we’re saying to British nationals is if you’re hesitant, if you’re weighing up your options, our strong, strong advice is to go through Wadi Saeedna whilst the ceasefire is up and running.

“There are planes, there is capacity, we will lift you out. I’m not able to make those same assurances once a ceasefire has ended.”

UK passport holders have been told to make their own way to the airfield and are not being provided with a military escort.

Downing Street rejected calls from people, including Foreign Affairs Committee chairwoman Alicia Keans, to widen the eligibility for evacuation beyond British passport holders and their immediate family.

But the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “There is an element of discretion for people on the ground as you might expect, given the circumstances and the challenging situation people will be facing.

“We recognise these are very challenging circumstances and, as we have done on previous occasions, we obviously empower people on the ground to make decisions.”

British ambassador to Sudan Giles Lever had been speaking to the warring parties — the Sudanese military and the RSF — to try to get a ceasefire extension.

The diplomat, who was not in Sudan when the fighting broke out, was being relocated from London to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia as he worked on efforts to end the fighting.

Africa minister Andrew Mitchell warned that an end to the ceasefire could result in a humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan.

“It is essential that a ceasefire is maintained and that a political process is secured,” he told the foreign affairs think tank Chatham House.

“If not, the humanitarian consequences will be incalculable.”