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As foreign countries evacuate hundreds of their citizens from the escalating violence in Sudan, the UK government has been accused of not doing enough to extract its own nationals.

The conflict has killed 420 people and trapped millions of Sudanese citizens without access to basic services.

Elite British troops were involved in a covert mission to evacuate British diplomats and their families from the capital Khartoum under cover of darkness, Sky News revealed.

But the UK government has faced criticism over the level of assistance it is providing for the 4,000 or so other UK passport holders still in the country.

So what are other countries doing to rescue their citizens from the crisis?

The US

US special forces evacuated all US government personnel and their dependants from their embassy on Saturday using helicopters that flew from a base in Djibouti and refuelled in Ethiopia.

Washington reportedly is not planning to coordinate an evacuation of other Americans but is looking at options to help them leave.

France

Evacuation operations launched by France are continuing, the French government has said.

In an update this morning, it said two new “rotations” by the French Air and Space Force between the Sudanese capital of Khartoum and Djibouti – which lies around 1,348 km east of Sudan – took place on Sunday night.

There was another rotation this morning, the government said, and each had 100 people on board, including some from the UK.

France’s operations have so far resulted in 388 people being able to leave Sudan, it added.

Other EU countries

The Irish government also confirmed it is sending in a team to evacuate its citizens from the crisis.

Germany’s air force has also been involved in evacuations, extracting a total of 313 people from Sudan so far.

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Sky News’s Deborah Haynes reveals how elite team of British troops evacuated UK diplomats from Sudan’s warzone capital

Read more:
Calls for Britons including NHS doctors to be helped

‘We need to get out’

An Italian air force C-130 that departed from Khartoum with evacuees landed on Sunday night at an air base in Djibouti, the defence ministry said. It added that another plane, carrying Italy’s ambassador and military personnel involved in the evacuation was expected in Djibouti later in the night.

A Spanish military aircraft flew around 100 people out of Khartoum, including more than 30 Spaniards and the rest from Portugal, Italy, Poland, Ireland, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia and Argentina, the foreign ministry said.

Sweden and Norway have said they were each involved in efforts to evacuate citizens.

Switzerland

Switzerland says it has closed its embassy in Khartoum and transported staff and their families out.

“This was made possible thanks to a collaboration with our partners, in particular France,” the Swiss foreign ministry said on Twitter.

Citizens of Saudi Arabia and people from other nationalities are welcomed by Saudi Royal Navy officials as they arrive at Jeddah Sea Port after being evacuated through Saudi Navy Ship from Sudan to escape the conflicts, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, April 22, 2023. Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY
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Citizens of Saudi Arabia and people from other nationalities are welcomed by Saudi Royal Navy officials as they arrive in Jeddah

Hungary

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in a Facebook video on Monday that four more Hungarians have been evacuated from Sudan, with another six en route to safety,

This is in addition to the 14 Hungarian and 48 other nationals who were rescued on Saturday by the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs after they were caught off-shore during a diving excursion by the sudden eruption of the civil war.

Middle Eastern countries

Saudi Arabia took 91 Saudis and about 66 people from other countries out from Port Sudan by naval ship to the Suadi port of Jeddah, across the Red Sea.

Qatar thanked Saudi Arabia for helping evacuate Qatari citizens. Sudan’s army accused the RSF of attacking and looting a Qatari embassy convoy heading to Port Sudan. It was not clear if it was the same group that left for Saudi Arabia.

Kuwait said all citizens wishing to return home had arrived in Jeddah.

Egypt says it had around 10,000 nationals in neighbouring Sudan, 436 of whom had been evacuated.

Jordanian officials said four planes landed at Amman military airport carrying 343 evacuees from Port Sudan.

Lebanon said it was working to evacuate 51 citizens from Port Sudan.

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Foreign Secretary James Cleverly says the government is committed’ to helping Brits in Sudan

Russia

Russia’s ambassador in Khartoum told state media that 140 out of roughly 300 Russians in Sudan had said they wanted to leave.

Evacuation plans were made but were still impossible to implement because they involve crossing frontlines, the ambassador said.

He added there were about 15 people, including a woman and child, stuck in a Russian Orthodox church close to heavy fighting in Khartoum.

Other countries

Around 83 Libyans including diplomats and their families, students and airline and bank employees had reached Port Sudan for onward travel home, according to Libya’s embassy in Khartoum.

South Korea said last week it was sending a military aircraft to evacuate its 25 citizens in Sudan.

Japan said three planes had landed in Djibouti to transport Japanese nationals.

Ghana and Kenya said they were working to help their nationals get out, while Nigeria said it had asked for a safe corridor to evacuate 5,500 nationals, mostly students.

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Europe must ‘ramp up’ pressure on Russia, says No 10 after Coalition of the Willing meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy

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Europe must 'ramp up' pressure on Russia, says No 10 after Coalition of the Willing meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Europe must “ramp up” pressure on Russia “to bring an end to this barbaric war”, a Downing Street spokesperson said after Sir Keir Starmer chaired a meeting with the Coalition of the Willing.

Earlier, the prime minister met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at Downing Street for crisis talks on the future of Ukraine.

After the Downing Street meeting, a spokesperson said Sir Keir “convened a call with other European allies alongside President Zelenskyy”.

“The leaders all agreed that now is a critical moment and that we must continue to ramp up support to Ukraine and economic pressure on Putin to bring an end to this barbaric war.”

Ukraine latest: ‘Critical stage’ in push for peace

Friedrich Merz, Sir Keir Starmer, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron at Downing Street. Pic: Reuters
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Friedrich Merz, Sir Keir Starmer, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron at Downing Street. Pic: Reuters

During the earlier meeting, the Downing Street spokesperson said that the leaders “discussed the importance of the US-led peace talks for European security and supported the progress made”.

All four “underscored the need for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, which includes robust security guarantees,” the spokesperson added.

“The leaders agreed that, while diplomatic efforts continue, Europe must stand with Ukraine, strengthening its ability to defend against relentless attacks that have left thousands without heat or light,” they said.

“They also discussed positive progress made to use immobilised Russian sovereign assets to support Ukraine’s reconstruction.”

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Mr Zelenskyy arrives at Downing Street

After arriving in the UK, Mr Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram that “we are joining our efforts to end this war with a decent peace for Ukraine” and that “security must be guaranteed”.

He later said: “We can’t manage without Americans, we can’t manage without Europe and that is why we need to make some important decisions.”

The discussions come as US President Donald Trump accused Mr Zelenskyy of having failed to read the latest peace plan.

He said he was “a little disappointed” in the Ukrainian leader, while insisting Russia’s Vladimir Putin was “fine with it”.

Mr Trump’s eldest son had earlier told Sky’s lead world news presenter Yalda Hakim in an interview that his father may walk away from the Ukraine peace process.

When asked directly if he believed the US president would walk away from Ukraine, he answered: “I think he may, what’s good about my father and what’s unique about my father is you don’t know what he’s going to do. He’s unpredictable.”

Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters

Sir Keir had earlier insisted any ceasefire must be “just” and “lasting”, adding: “We are at a critical stage in the push for peace.

“The principles remain the same. We stand with Ukraine, and if there is to be a ceasefire, it needs to be a just and lasting ceasefire.”

Mr Macron had insisted Ukraine’s allies have “a lot of cards” – but the main issue was to “finalise these peace negotiations” and find the “best possible conditions for Ukraine, for the Europeans, and for collective security”.

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Why the meeting in London is important

Moments after arriving at Downing Street, Mr Merz said he was “sceptical about some of the details in documents coming from the US” but that was one of the reasons for Monday’s talks.

The four European leaders emerged from Downing Street at around 2.20pm for a group photo – but declined to answer any questions from the media.

Sir Keir and Mr Zelenskyy then went back inside the prime minister’s residence for further talks while Mr Macron and Mr Merz departed.

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The London meeting comes after Mr Zelenskyy’s officials concluded three days of talks with US diplomats.

Over the weekend, Mr Zelenskyy said he had discussed “next steps” with Mr Trump’s advisers and was “determined to keep working in good faith”.

According to Vatican sources, the Ukrainian president will next meet with Pope Leo at Castel Gandolfo, the papal residence outside of Rome, on Tuesday morning.

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Israeli government accused of intimidation and harassment after raid on UN building in Jerusalem

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Israeli government accused of intimidation and harassment after raid on UN building in Jerusalem

The Israeli government has been accused of intimidation, harassment and a “blatant disregard” of its obligations by the United Nations after Israeli officials raided a UN building in Jerusalem.

Police officers, along with officials from the town council, entered the East Jerusalem compound of UNRWA, the UN agency that provides services to Palestinian refugees.

The compound has been empty since January, when the Israeli government ordered UNRWA to close the building, accusing the agency of being “infested” with members of Hamas.

The United Nations denied that accusation vehemently.

Read more: What were UNRWA workers in Gaza accused of?

Having gained entry to the compound, the officials filled vehicles with possessions, including office furniture, and raised an Israeli flag in place of the United Nations flag.

They claimed that the building had been raided because UNRWA owed around hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of local taxes.

More on Hamas

However, under the UN charter, UN buildings are exempt from such taxes and are also considered “inviolable”, meaning that, rather than raiding the building, Israel has an obligation to protect it.

Since its staff were told to leave, there have been attempts to break into the compound, which has been secured by a team of guards employed by the UN.

Sky News has been told that, when the Israeli officials arrived on Monday morning, the security guards were detained in a room within the compound.

“We didn’t let them in when they first came to the compound, but they cut the chains and the locks and took control,” said George, the head of security, who was standing outside the front gate when we arrived.

“They told my guards to stay in one room, took their phones from them, and told them they couldn’t leave.”

‘The false accusations led to this’

UNRWA’s commissioner-general, Philippe Lazzarini, said the raid was “a blatant disregard of Israel’s obligation as a United Nations Member State to protect and respect the inviolability of UN premises”.

He said that failing to cooperate with UN agencies “represent a new challenge to international law, one that creates a dangerous precedent anywhere else the UN is present across the world”.

His anger was not isolated. Outside the gates of the UNRWA compound, we met Hakam Shahwam, who used to work here as UNRWA’s chief of staff. It was, he said, “a very sad day”.

Shahwam says the claims that UNRWA was a breeding ground for Hamas had led to the raid.

He told me: “The false accusations led to this. This is a shameful day, not only for the United Nations but also for the government of Israel.

“There must be a strong protest, and a response from the international community. This is unacceptable.”

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Gaza longs for normality, but quasi-anarchy reigns
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‘It is time for UNRWA to be dismantled’

The Israeli government remains adamant that its criticism of UNRWA is justified.

When I asked Shosh Bedrosian, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, about the raid, she said: “UNRWA is a stain on the United Nations.”

She added: “It is time for UNRWA to be dismantled. It is not part of the solution for Gaza, it is part of the problem.”

She did not comment on the legality of the raid, or on Israel’s ongoing commitment to the UN Charter.

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Greek farmers have forced shutdown of Crete airport

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Greek farmers have forced shutdown of Crete airport

Greek farmers angered by delayed subsidy payments have shut down the international airport on Crete and clashed with riot police.

Images from local media showed dozens of farmers standing on the apron at Nikos Kazantzakis International Airport in Heraklion, the largest city on Crete.

Pic: Reuters
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Pic: Reuters


The airport was forced to suspend all flights, while fights between protesters and riot police broke out in Chania, the Greek island’s second-largest city, where two people were reportedly injured.

Officers used tear gas to disperse protesting farmers who pelted them with rocks and overturned a police patrol car, according to local media.

Pics: AP
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Pics: AP

The protests were sparked after delays in the payment of European Union-backed agricultural subsidies, which followed a scandal over fraudulent subsidy claims.

Authorities are reviewing all requests for EU farm subsidies, which protesters argue amount to collective punishment and leave farmers in debt and unable to plant their fields for next season.

Meanwhile, Greece’s farming sector has been hit by an outbreak of goat and sheep pox, leading to a mass cull of livestock.

More on European Union

Farmers have since deployed thousands of tractors and other agricultural vehicles at border crossings and key points along highways across the country, as well as ports and airports.

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Pics: Reuters
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Pics: Reuters

Michalis Chrisochoidis, Greek minister for public order, said last week that the government remained open to talks with protest leaders, but warned it wouldn’t tolerate the shutdown of major transit points.

It comes after riot police fired tear gas at protesting farmers attempting to block the main access road to the international airport outside the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki on Friday.

Elsewhere, police have been enforcing traffic diversions in several parts of northern and central Greece, while farmer roadblocks at the country’s northern borders with Bulgaria, Turkey and North Macedonia have hampered truck traffic.

Protests by farmers are common in Greece, and similar blockades in the past have sometimes severed all road traffic between the north and south of the country for weeks.

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