Brits trapped in Sudan have accused the government of ‘abandoning’ them as they prepare a ‘surgical’ evacuation of diplomatic officials from the country, Daily Mail reports.
Last night, the UK began drawing up plans for a military airlift of a dozen British diplomats as well as their families from the embassy in the capital, Khartoum.
There are a supposed 25 diplomats in total connected to the embassy – many of whom have been sheltering in their homes since the beginning of the conflict.
There are still several hundred other Britons living in the country, however, and ministers and Whitehall officials have stated that a wider evacuation has not been possible at this stage.
The British-based news platform also reported that trapped civilians from the UK said it had taken five days for the embassy to contact them with a telephone number they could use to register with the foreign office.
A teacher told the Times that several people had been unable to dial through and were forced to ask family in the UK to call the number on their behalf.
“The first five days were ridiculous, and farcical actually. I couldn’t believe they would continue to not do anything,” William said.
British ambassador to Sudan, Giles Lever and his deputy were abroad when the violence began and have not been able to return.
Irritated senior figures in Whitehall have likened the situation to the chaos of the Afghanistan evacuation in August 2021.
A source said, “It’s Kabul all over again.
William said the capacity of the embassy to help was ‘tiny’.
“There is someone who we have direct contact with, but there is a scarcity of anybody above her in the embassy,” he added.
