Sudan: Rival factions agree to ceasefire extension – as UK evacuates almost 900
Sudan’s rival factions have agreed to extend a 72-hour ceasefire – just hours before the original truce was due to end.
First the country’s army, then its rivals in the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) agreed to the extension brokered by the US and Saudi Arabia, it was announced on Thursday evening.
But violence continued in the capital Khartoum and raged in the western Darfur region.
It came as the British evacuation mission rescued at least 897 people.
The truce will start at midnight tonight local time (11pm UK time), as the White House said it was concerned by ceasefire violations and warned the situation “could worsen at any moment”.
Eight British flights had left Sudan as of 4pm today, with the Foreign Office promising “further flights to come”.
More than 2,000 British nationals in Sudan have registered under the evacuation plans. Earlier this week, the UK government said around 4,000 British passport holders were in the country.
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Rescue may be ‘impossible’ when truce ends
The Foreign Office, which has not said how many of the evacuees are British, urged citizens to head to an airstrip before the ceasefire was due to end.
Military chiefs say they have the capacity to lift at least 500 people per day out of the Wadi Saeedna airfield near the capital, Khartoum.
Time is ticking down on the first truce between Sudan’s two warring factions, and there are fears clashes that have killed hundreds will continue.
The foreign secretary warned Britons stranded in Sudan it could be “impossible” to evacuate them when the ceasefire expires – as he urged people to head to the airstrip as soon as possible.
James Cleverly told Sky’s Kay Burley: “We cannot predict exactly what will happen when that ceasefire ends, but what we do know is that it will be much much harder – potentially impossible.”
“There are planes, there is capacity – we will lift you out. I’m not able to make those same assurances once the ceasefire has ended.”
“So if you’re planning to move, move now,” he said.
British nationals walk to board an RAF aircraft
The Foreign Office also said this afternoon that the UK ambassador to Sudan, Giles Lever, has been deployed to the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
He will lead the UK’s diplomatic efforts in the region “to bring fighting to an end in Sudan”.
The ambassador was not in Khartoum when the fighting broke out with newspaper reports saying he was on holiday at the time.
At least 512 people have died and thousands injured since the power struggle between the army and RSF descended into fighting almost two weeks ago.
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Sudan: Relief and joy to be back
RAF planes are evacuating Britons using an air strip near Khartoum
Only British passport holders and immediate family members with existing UK entry clearance are eligible for evacuation.
However, Mr Cleverly said a “few nationals of other countries” had also been allowed on its planes out of Sudan.
RAF planes are evacuating people to Cyprus, where they are met by Foreign Office officials and medics, before being flown to London Stansted on commercial jets.
UK officials and medics are meeting the evacuees at an airport in Cyprus
The government is also working on a sea evacuation route from Port Sudan and the HMS Lancaster has been dispatched. Other countries have been using the city to get people out.
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Evacuees face risky journey to get to air strip
Read more:
How can British nationals get to the RAF base?
Traumatised Sudan evacuees describe ‘horrendous’ scenes
Explainer: What’s behind the Sudan fighting?
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‘No plans for safe routes for refugees’
Some have criticised the government for being too slow to start its evacuation plan, with countries such as Germany completing evacuations on Tuesday night.
UK diplomats and their families were evacuated from Sudan in a mission involving elite troops at the weekend.
Africa minister Andrew Mitchell has said Britain’s evacuation effort is “going very smoothly” but warned we are “in the hands of the ceasefire”.
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The fighting has pushed Sudan’s population to near breaking point, with food becoming scarce, electricity cut off across much of the capital and other cities, and many hospitals shut down.
Multiple aid agencies have had to suspend operations and the UN refugee agency said it was gearing up for potentially tens of thousands of people fleeing to neighbouring countries.
Reports of a “board-level orchestrated coup” at the BBC are “complete nonsense”, non-executive director Sir Robbie Gibb has told MPs.
Sir Robbie, whose position on the BBC board has been challenged by critics in recent weeks, was among senior leaders, including the broadcaster’s chair, Samir Shah, to face questions from the Culture, Media and Sport committee about the current crisis.
The hearing took place in the wake of the fallout over the edit of a speech by US President Donald Trump, which prompted the resignation of the corporation’s director-general and the chief executive of BBC News, and the threat of a lawsuit from the US president.
Former BBC editorial adviser Michael Prescott wrote the memo that was leaked. Pic: PA
Former editorial adviser Michael Prescott, whose leaked memo sparked the recent chain of events, also answered questions from MPs – telling the hearing he felt he kept seeing “incipient problems” that were not being tackled.
He also said Mr Trump’s reputation had “probably not” been tarnished by the Panorama edit.
During his own questioning, Sir Robbie addressed concerns of potential political bias – he left BBC News in 2017 to become then prime minister Theresa May’s director of communications, a post he held until 2019, and was appointed to the BBC board in 2021 by Boris Johnson.
BBC board member Sir Robbie Gibb appearing before the Culture, Media and Sport committee. Pic: PA
“I know it’s hard to marry the fact that I spent two years as director of communications for the government… and my genuine passion for impartiality,” he said.
“I want to hear the full range of views… I don’t want the BBC to be partisan or favour any particular way.”
Asked about reports and speculation that there has been a “board-level orchestrated coup”, Sir Robbie responded: “It’s up there as one of the most ridiculous charges… People had to find some angle.
“It’s complete nonsense. It’s also deeply offensive to fellow board members… people of great standing in different fields.”
He said his political work has been “weaponised” – and that it was hard as a non-executive member of the BBC to respond to criticism.
‘We should have made the decision earlier’
BBC chair Samir Shah also answered questions. Pic: PA
Mr Shah admitted the BBC was too slow in responding to the issue of the Panorama edit of Mr Trump, which had been flagged long before the leaked memo.
“Looking back, I think we should have made the decision earlier,” he said. “I think in May, as it happens.
“I think there is an issue about how quickly we respond, the speed of our response. Why do we not do it quickly enough? Why do we take so much time? And this was another illustration of that.”
Following reports of the leaked memo, it took nearly a week for the BBC to issue an apology.
Mr Shah told the committee he did not think Mr Davie needed to resign over the issue and that he “spent a great deal of time” trying to stop him from doing so.
Is director-general role too big for one person?
Tim Davie is stepping down as BBC director-general
Asked about his own position, Mr Shah said his job now is to “steady the ship”, and that he is not someone “who walks away from a problem”.
A job advert for the BBC director-general role has since gone live on the corporation’s careers website.
Mr Shah told the hearing his view is that the role is “too big” for one person and that he is “inclined” to restructure roles at the top.
He says he believes there should also be a deputy director-general who is “laser-focused on journalism”, which is “the most important thing and our greatest vulnerability”.
Earlier in the hearing, Mr Prescott gave evidence alongside another former BBC editorial adviser, Caroline Daniel.
He told the CMS committee that there are “issues of denial” at the BBC and said “the management did not accept there was a problem” with the Panorama episode.
Mr Prescott’s memo highlighted concerns about the way clips of Mr Trump’s speech on January 6 2021 were spliced together so it appeared he had told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to “fight like hell”.
‘I can’t think of anything I agree with Trump on’
Mr Trump has said he is going to pursue a lawsuit of between $1bn and $5bn against the broadcaster, despite receiving an official public apology.
Asked if the documentary had harmed Mr Trump’s image, Mr Prescott responded: “I should probably restrain myself a little bit, given that there is a potential legal action.
“All I could say is, I can’t think of anything I agree with Donald Trump on.”
He was later pushed on the subject, and asked again if he agreed that the programme tarnished the president’s reputation, to which he then replied: “Probably not.”
Read more:
Experts on why Trump might struggle to win lawsuit
Why are people calling for Sir Robbie Gibb to go?
Mr Prescott, a former journalist, also told the committee he did not know how his memo was leaked to the Daily Telegraph.
“At the most fundamental level, I wrote that memo, let me be clear, because I am a strong supporter of the BBC.
“The BBC employs talented professionals across all of its factual and non-factual programmes, and most people in this country, certainly myself included, might go as far as to say that they love the BBC.
He said he “never envisaged” the fallout that would occur. “I was hoping the concerns I had could, and would, be addressed privately in the first instance.”
Asked if he thinks the BBC is institutionally biased, he said: “No, I don’t.”
He said that “tonnes” of the BBC’s work is “world class” – but added that there is “real work that needs to be done” to deal with problems.
Mr Davie, he said, did a “first-rate job” as director-general but had a “blind spot” toward editorial failings.
Police have appealed for information after a man was charged with murdering two women and raping a third.
Simon Levy has been charged with murdering 53-year-old Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo who died on the Aylesbury Estate, south-east London, on 17 March, the Metropolitan Police said.
In September, Levy, of Beaufoy Road, Tottenham, north London, was charged with murdering 39-year-old Sheryl Wilkins who was found unresponsive in High Road, Tottenham, on 24 August.
He is also accused of grievous bodily harm with intent, non-fatal strangulation and two counts of rape against a third woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in Haringey, north London, on 21 January, police said.
The 40-year-old will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday charged with Ms Valencia-Trujillo’s murder.
Sheryl Wilkins was found unresponsive in High Road, Tottenham, on 24 August. Pic: Metropolitan Police
He is also due to appear at the Old Bailey on Wednesday for a plea and trial preparation hearing for the murder of Ms Wilkins.
Detectives believe there may be individuals who have information relevant to this investigation – or who are yet to report incidents which have directly impacted them – and are asking for people to come forward.
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