Sudan evacuations 'could continue if ceasefire collapses' as Germany lashes out at UK for holding up rescue mission

27 April 2023, 00:32 | Updated: 27 April 2023, 07:13

The Sudan evacuation could continue even if the ceasefire collapses or ends, the officer in charge of the rescue has said.

Six flights from Sudan have lifted 536 people to safety, the Foreign Office said on Wednesday night. There were thought to be at least 2,000 Brits in the country.

But with passport-holders asked to make their way to the airstrip - and defence secretary Ben Wallace even suggesting they arrange a taxi there - there are fears about what will happen to the rest if the ceasefire doesn't hold.

Brigadier Dan Reeve, who has some 160 British troops defending the airstrip with the Sudanese, said: "The ongoing operation... is not conditional on that ceasefire holding."

But James Cleverly warned the Government "cannot guarantee" how many more flights will be made when the temporary truce ends.

Read more: Return from hell: First British civilians land back in UK after 'chaotic' evacuation from war-torn Sudan

It came as a spat broke out between Germany and Britain after Berlin accused the UK of holding up its own evacuation operation by flying in its military "unannounced".

The government launched a special forces mission over the weekend to rescue its diplomatic staff from the country.

But German sources have now said that Britain deployed its military without warning, upsetting the Sudanese forces that control the airstrip north of the capital Khartoum.

Read more: UK government has put out 'misinformation' regarding Sudan evacuations, escapee says

This led to the soldiers cutting off access to the strip, with one source telling the BBC the British had to pay them before being able to leave.

Negotiations to reopen the airstrip meant Germany lost half a day in its evacuation operation.

The Ministry of Defence insisted these claims from political sources in Germany were wrong.

But the German defence minister, when questioned why Britain managed to rescue its embassy staff on Saturday while Germany only got its flights going the day after, said: "How shall I put it diplomatically? They ignored what the Sudanese had stipulated."

"It is not accurate to suggest that Britain's efforts to evacuate embassy staff from Sudan last weekend slowed down Germany's plans," a spokesperson said.

"Operating in such complex circumstances will always come with challenges, but we have worked extremely closely with our French, US and particularly German partners who have facilitated access to the airfield throughout this week, and of course we remain grateful to the Sudanese Armed Forces."

Britain has hoped to extract as many citizens as possible while a ceasefire between the Sudanese military and the Rapid Support Forces militia holds up well enough.

They have urged passport holders to make their way to the airfield 30km north of Khartoum.

But they have been criticised by people who said they felt "abandoned" in Sudan after the diplomatic rescue mission.

Women and small children, including babies in their prams, were seen arriving in Stansted as relatives waited to greet them.

One man who managed to flee, who did not want to give his name, said: "It's absolutely fantastic to be back. It's been a nightmare. We've never seen anything like it before.

"We saw it on the television before but we never thought it was going to happen to a peaceful country like Sudan. Khartoum is like a ghost city, everyone is leaving Khartoum now.

"We are very grateful to the British servicemen and women who risked their lives to come to Sudan and help us out.

"There are more people stranded there and I think there should be more awareness to those stranded. We were very lucky but not everyone was as lucky we are.

"I was in the middle of the conflict. There was bombing and shelling, the house next to us was shelled. It was like a Bond movie, I've never seen anything like it before."