The UK development minister, Andrew Mitchell, has stated that he cannot provide any assurances regarding evacuations for British nationals who remain in Sudan. This follows criticism of the UK’s decision to only rescue its diplomats over the weekend while other countries evacuated both diplomats and nationals.
Mitchell has confirmed that around 2,000 Britons in Sudan had registered with the Foreign Office and that the government is exploring every possible option to get them out. However, he cautioned that he cannot give any guarantees and that it would not be responsible to do so.
On Sunday, the UK evacuated its diplomats from Sudan, leaving British citizens awaiting further instructions. Mitchell clarified that only diplomats and not citizens had been evacuated because there is a specific legal duty of care owed to UK staff and diplomats. Additionally, there had been a specific threat to the diplomatic community in Khartoum.
In a round of interviews on Monday morning, Mitchell said he could not give a timeline for when it would be possible to rescue British nationals. “The situation is absolutely desperate and a ceasefire is required,” he said. “The only advice that Britain can give to people is to stay indoors because that is the safe option.”
However, he added: “Many of the Brits there are very creative and know the situation on the ground, and if at their own risk they determine there is a way for them to leave their own homes then of course they will take it.”
The Conservative chair of the foreign affairs select committee, Alicia Kearns, said the Foreign Office did not appear to have learned lessons from the evacuation from Afghanistan, judging by its communications with British nationals in Sudan.
“3,000, 4,000-plus” British nationals stuck in Sudan
Kearns estimated that there could be “3,000, 4,000-plus” British nationals stuck in Sudan.
The speaker stated that if the UK determined that it could not make an effort to rescue the remaining nationals, it should communicate that decision to them.This would prevent them from waiting for an operation that would not occur.
Kearns, speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, emphasized that there is a moral obligation to inform British nationals of the judgment made as soon as possible. This would allow them to make their own decisions accordingly.
She agreed it was unacceptable that British nationals who had registered with the Foreign Office had received just two computer-generated messages in the past week.
The statement suggests that the government has not learned any lessons from Afghanistan, and the speaker has urged them to ensure they are communicating with British nationals regularly. The reality is that, unlike other countries, we have thousands [of nationals in Sudan] so perhaps sometimes phoning around is terribly difficult.”
