Four thousand British passport holders in Sudan – amid warnings UK govt ‘severely limited’ in ability to help them
There are understood to be around 4,000 British passport holders in Sudan – as foreign secretary James Cleverly warned the UK government is “severely limited” in its ability to help British nationals until the conflict there ends.
It comes after diplomats and staff in Sudan have been evacuated by governments around the world as rival generals battle for a ninth day with no sign of a truce that had been declared for a major Muslim holiday.
While world powers including the US and the UK airlifted their diplomats from the capital of Khartoum, Sudanese citizens have desperately tried to flee the chaos, with many of them risking dangerous roads to cross the northern border in Egypt.
Fighting has raged in Omdurman, a city across the Nile River from Khartoum, according to residents, despite a hoped-for ceasefire to coincide with the three-day Muslim holiday of Eid al Fitr.
More than 420 people, including 246 civilians, have been killed while over 3,700 have been injured in a bloody conflict between the Sudanese army and a powerful paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces.
The RSF claimed the armed forces unleashed air strikes on the upscale area of Kafouri, north of Khartoum.
Andrew Mitchell, the UK minister for International Development and Africa, told Sky News’s Kay Burley this morning that there is a “situation of chaos and enormous violence in Sudan”, adding that the “absolute number one requirement is to get a ceasefire”.
He said: “We will do everything we can and I mean everything to get our British citizens out.”
Mr Mitchell said that an “extremely successful but complicated operation was conducted yesterday morning which got the diplomats out”.
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‘We will do everything we can’
“We have a specific duty of care for the diplomats, but I must stress that these diplomats were in acute danger because the guns were on either side of the British embassy and the British residence, and we got them out as fast as we could, as did the Americans get their diplomats out.”
He said that the focus is now on getting British citizens out of Sudan.
“Since we went into 24/7 crisis mode on the Sudan situation and tension always has been to facilitate the exit of our own citizens as soon as it is safe to do so.”
Asked how that could happen, he said: “All I can tell you is that every single option is being explored in detail and the moment that it is possible to change the travel advice and move them, we will.”
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In this image provided by the French Armed Forces, military personnel load belongings of evacuees onto a plane at the airport in Khartoum
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly chaired a sixth Sudan Cobra session on Sunday night to discuss the “escalation” of violence in the African nation.
Mr Cleverly said the government remained “absolutely committed to supporting” Britons in the country, but he said that until a ceasefire is reached, ministers were “severely limited in our ability to provide assistance to British nationals”.
Senior opposition MPs said they are “deeply concerned” about the welfare of British nationals still in Sudan.
Irish citizens who remain in Ireland have been urged to stay indoors, with Micheal Martin saying that further information will be communicated to them on airlift operations.
“This will take some days,” the Tanaiste and foreign affairs minister said.
“I think we’re pleased with the initial outcome in the last 24 hours but it is something that’s very, very fluid, and bear in mind that the conflict is a ferocious one.”
Violence affects operations at airports
The ongoing violence has impacted operations at the main international airport, destroying civilian planes and damaging at least one runway, with thick, black smoke rising above it. Other airports have also been forced out of operation.
Smoke is seen rising from buildings during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum
US special forces swiftly evacuated 70 US Embassy workers from Khartoum to Ethiopia on Sunday following a week of battles that hindered rescues.
Other countries have also managed to remove their citizens as well as their diplomats despite American officials saying it was too dangerous for a government-coordinated evacuation of thousands of private citizens.
Meanwhile, France and Italy said they would accommodate all their citizens who wish to leave, along with those from other countries who could not otherwise join an evacuation operation.
Officials said President Emmanuel Macron and his foreign minister were given security guarantees by both sides for the evacuation.
In this image provided by the Italian Defence Ministry, military personnel evacuate people from the airport in Khartoum
On Sunday, two French flights took off from Khartoum to Djibouti, carrying around 2,000 passengers from various countries, with more planned for today.
While Germany’s foreign ministry said a military plane carrying 101 German diplomatic staff, family members and citizens of partner countries who were evacuated from Sudan via Jordan had landed safely in Berlin.
Italian citizens are boarded on an Italian Air Force C130 aircraft during their evacuation from Khartoum
An Italian air force C-130 that left Khartoum with evacuees landed Sunday night at an air base in Djibouti and around 100 people were flown out of Khartoum by Spanish military aircraft including 30 Spaniards – with the rest from Portugal, Italy, Poland, Ireland, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia and Argentina, the foreign ministry said.
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The plane took off from Khartoum airport and evacuated over 100 Italians to Djibouti.
And Jordanian officials said four planes landed at Amman military airport carrying 343 evacuees from Port Sudan, while other flights from Sudan were organised by Greece and the Netherlands.
Poland and the Netherlands have also begun evacuating their citizens.
Last week, militants attacked a US Embassy convoy and stormed the EU ambassador’s home.
Jordanians evacuated form Sudan arrive to a military airport in Amman, Jordan
The power struggle between the Sudanese military, headed by Gen Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the RSF, led by Gen Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, has dealt a harsh blow to Sudan’s hopes for a democratic transition.
The rival generals rose to power following a pro-democracy uprising which prompted the removal of the former strongman, Mr al-Bashir. The generals joined forces to seize power in a coup in 2021.
Around 14 million people could die across the world over the next five years because of cuts to the US Agency for International Development (USAID), researchers have warned.
Children under five are expected to make up around a third (4.5 million) of the mortalities, according to a study published in The Lancet medical journal.
Estimates showed that “unless the abrupt funding cuts announced and implemented in the first half of 2025 are reversed, a staggering number of avoidable deaths could occur by 2030”.
“Beyond causing millions of avoidable deaths – particularly among the most vulnerable – these cuts risk reversing decades of progress in health and socioeconomic development in LMICs [low and middle-income countries],” the report said.
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USAID programmes have prevented the deaths of more than 91 million people, around a third of them among children, the study suggests.
The agency’s work has been linked to a 65% fall in deaths from HIV/AIDS, or 25.5 million people.
Eight million deaths from malaria, more than half the total, around 11 million from diarrheal diseases and nearly five million from tuberculosis (TB), have also been prevented.
USAID has been vital in improving global health, “especially in LMICs, particularly African nations,” according to the report.
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Established in 1961, the agency was tasked with providing humanitarian assistance and helping economic growth in developing countries, especially those deemed strategic to Washington.
But the Trump administration has made little secret of its antipathy towards the agency, which became an early victim of cuts carried out by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – formerly led by Elon Musk – in what the US government said was part of a broader plan to remove wasteful spending.
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What is USAID?
In March, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said more than 80% of USAID schemes had been closed following a six-week review, leaving around 1,000 active.
The US is the world’s largest humanitarian aid donor, providing around $61bn (£44bn) in foreign assistance last year, according to government data, or at least 38% of the total, and USAID is the world’s leading donor for humanitarian and development aid, the report said.
Between 2017 and 2020, the agency responded to more than 240 natural disasters and crises worldwide – and in 2016 it sent food assistance to more than 53 million people across 47 countries.
The study assessed all-age and all-cause mortality rates in 133 countries and territories, including all those classified as low and middle-income, supported by USAID from 2001 to 2021.
Thailand’s prime minister has been suspended after a leaked phone call with a senior Cambodian politician caused outrage.
An ethics investigation into Paetongtarn Shinawatra is under way and she could end up being dismissed.
The country’s constitutional court took up a petition from 36 senators, who claimed dishonesty and a breach of ethical standards, and voted 7 to 2 to suspend her.
Protesters gathered in Bangkok at the weekend. Pic: Reuters
The prime minister’s call with Cambodia’s former leader, Hun Sen, sparked public protests after she tried to appease him and criticised a Thai army commander – a taboo move in a country where the military is extremely influential.
Ms Shinawatra was trying to defuse mounting tensions at the border – which in May resulted in the death of one Cambodian soldier.
Thousands of conservative, nationalist protesters held a demo in Bangkok on Saturday to urge her to step down.
Her party is clinging on to power after another group withdrew from their alliance a few weeks ago over the phone call. Calls for a no-confidence vote are likely.
Deputy prime minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit will take over temporarily while the court looks into the case.
The 38-year-old prime minister – Thailand‘s youngest ever leader – has 15 days to respond to the probe. She has apologised and said her approach in the call was a negotiating tactic.
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The popularity of her government has slumped recently, with an opinion poll showing an approval rating of 9.2%, down from 30.9% in March.
Ms Shinawatra comes from a wealthy dynasty synonymous with Thai politics.
Her father Thaksin Shinawatra – a former Manchester City owner – and aunt Yingluck Shinawatra served as prime minister before her – in the early to mid 2000s – and their time in office also ended ignominiously amid corruption charges and military coups.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be meeting Donald Trump next Monday, according to US officials.
The visit on 7 July comes after Mr Trump suggested it was possible a ceasefire in Gaza could be reached within a week.
On Sunday, he wrote on social media: “MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!”
At least 60 people killed across Gaza on Monday, in what turned out to be some of the heaviest attacks in weeks.
Benjamin Netanyahu, left, with Donald Trump during a previous meeting. Pic: Reuters
According to the Hamas-run health ministry, 56,500 people have been killed in the 20-month war.
The visit by Mr Netanyahu to Washington has not been formally announced and the officials who said it would be going ahead spoke on condition of anonymity.
An Israeli official in Washington also confirmed the meeting next Monday.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration was in constant communication with the Israeli government.
She said Mr Trump viewed ending the war in Gaza and returning remaining hostages held by Hamas as a top priority.
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The war in Gaza broke out in retaliation for Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw a further 250 taken hostage.
An eight-week ceasefire was reached in the final days of Joe Biden’s US presidency, but Israel resumed the war in March after trying to get Hamas to accept new terms on next steps.
Talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled over whether the war should end as part of any ceasefire.
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