Brits thinking of leaving Sudan told: ‘If you’re planning to move, move now’

James Cleverly has urged Brits in Sudan to ‘move now’ before the current 72-hour ceasefire expires.

‘If you are planning to move, move now,’ the foreign secretary told those stranded in the Northeast African country, where the army is fighting with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The ceasefire is set to end at midnight local time, but Sudan’s armed forces have expressed willingness to extend the deadline for peace talks.

The Foreign Office confirmed 536 nationals have so far been airlifted to safety on six flights, but thousands more are believed to have missed the RAF evacuation.

Priority has been given to families with children and the elderly after UK diplomats were evacuated on Saturday.

Mr Cleverly has warned the government ‘cannot guarantee’ what will happen in Sudan if and when the current ceasefire ends.

‘We had planned to evacuate under whatever circumstances on the ground,’ he told Sky News.

‘The ceasefire that we had called for in conjunction with our international allies has made it considerably easier.

‘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.

‘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.’

The first plane carrying UK citizens touched down on British soil yesterday, having left Larnaca in Cyprus, where they were initially evacuated.

Only British passport holders and immediate family members with existing entry clearance are being told they are eligible.

Africa minister Andrew Mitchell said the mission was ‘going very smoothly’ with ‘no great backlog, no great congestion’ at the air strip.

But he warned ‘we are absolutely in the hands of the ceasefire’.

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