More Cypriot and British evacuees arrive from Sudan (update 3)

Six more flights with evacuees from Sudan were due to land in Larnaca on Wednesday as the island continued to be used as a hub to get European nationals out of the troubled African nation.

Flights had started to arrive on Tuesday night, and foreign ministry spokesman Theodoros Gotsis said those flights included 10 Cypriots.

“The process continues today, six flights are expected,” he said, adding that it is important to mention that most passengers who arrived on the three flights the previous evening have already departed from Cyprus.

Britons who arrived in Larnaca said they were terrified by the journey through Khartoum to the airport, that once there they were met by their compatriots the evacuation process went smoothly.

This shows the process involved in activating the ESTIA National emergency plan, he added, speaking from the JRCC centre where he and British High Commissioner Irfan Siddiq oversaw the arrival of some flights.

He said Cyprus is a transit station in the process of evacuating civilians, while, for any other contribution needed from the services of the state, everything was ready.

All services were fully mobilised, he said, adding that this was important “because Cyprus is really contributing to a humanitarian crisis taking place in our neighbourhood.”

Asked about the number of passengers expected to arrive on Wednesday, Gotsis noted that the three evening flights brought about 240 people, and the aim was to have a smooth flow to be able to provide proper help if and where needed.

Siddiq said there are an estimated 3.5 to four thousand Britons in Sudan, of which the UK authorities have contacted 1,000 directly, while around 2,500 are registered in the British Foreign Office’s registration system.

Siddiq said they have been working tirelessly in recent days to find solutions, noting that this depends on stability and security on the ground.

He explained that the aircraft that transport the citizens are military and depart from the British Base in Akrotiri.

“We have military facilities and capabilities here at the bases, on the island of Cyprus, that we use to go to Khartoum, but then they fly to Larnaca because the government of the Republic of Cyprus has a well-established plan that goes back to 2006, when we had the large evacuation from Lebanon to help welcome and promote then all these people with commercial flights and it is for this that we come here rather than to Akrotiri and this is working well so far. We are very grateful to the Republic of Cyprus for this the support,” he said.

Asked why there were only 39 people on the first flight, he said that the purpose of this flight was not to carry passengers but to prepare the operation so only returned with the staff who went there.

“But because there were some British nationals already at the airport, they took the opportunity to bring 39 of them back,” he noted.

He said some later flights that arrived were full, while others had some empty seats because people couldn’t arrive at the airport as expected.

“We are expecting a lot more today because I think after yesterday’s experience there is a belief among people that this route works. We are preparing many flights today. So, I hope we will have many hundreds of people coming today,” he said.

Asked if he believed the 4,000 Britons who wanted to leave would be able to do so before the ceasefire expired, he said they only had about 2,500 registered in their system.

“We think there are more Britons there. Some may have found other avenues,” he said.

Noting that some people struggle to complete the necessary form online due to poor internet connection and asked if they will not be able to board the aircraft if they fail to do so, he replied: “Their registration form is just for update on our planning. We’ve already sent the message to all Britons who want to leave to go to the airport. They don’t need to register to go to the airport.”

He said it does not mean that if there are British people who are not registered they cannot travel.

“Of course they can. If they show up at the airport with their passport they will be put on a plane,” he said.

On Wednesday morning, two flights, one flight carrying Cypriot evacuees as well as Britons, arrived safely at Larnaca airport.

The first Royal Air Force flight arrived at dawn, carrying three more Cypriot citizens and seven people of Cypriot origin.

Later in the morning, a second flight landed, carrying British nationals in transit to the UK.

Speaking on state broadcaster CyBC Gotsis said the goal is to make the most of the ceasefire and rescue as many nationals as possible of various countries.

The evacuations are being carried out in coordination with several EU states, under the management of Estia, a crisis repatriation body assembled following UK initiative.

A 72-hour ceasefire in Sudan came into effect at midnight on Monday.

British authorities aim to repatriate the evacuees to the UK within 48 hours, while Gotsis told CyBC the Republic would make available short-term accommodations as necessary.

Passengers on Tuesday’s flight stayed overnight in a Larnaca hotel and were expected to complete their onward journey on Wednesday.

British evacuation flights are operating from Wadi Saeedna Airport north of the capital Khartoum.

Until Tuesday the control and security of the airport was carried out by German soldiers, who were handing over the task to British soldiers on Wednesday, according to British defence secretary Ben Wallace.

Around 120 members of the British armed forces are on site, as well as teams from the foreign and home offices to verify documents.

The British government has received criticism for the slow pace of evacuations compared with other countries and for directing its citizens to go to the airport in their own vehicles, despite uncertainty about the observance of the ceasefire and a lack of fuel.

The UK has far more nationals in Sudan than any other country, British home secretary Suella Braverman said on Wednesday defending the British operation.