UK ‘cannot guarantee’ number of Sudan evacuation flights after 72-hour ceasefire expires
British nationals in Sudan have been warned the UK “cannot guarantee” how many more evacuation flights will leave Khartoum after the 72-hour ceasefire expires.
So far, 536 British nationals have been airlifted to safety on six flights, according to the Foreign Office.
The US-Saudi mediated ceasefire between Sudan’s two warring factions is due to expire at midnight local time, amid fears that the bloody clashes which have killed hundreds of people will continue.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the UK “cannot guarantee” how many further flights will depart after the deadline is reached.
He urged UK nationals who want to leave Sudan to make their way to the Wadi Saeedna air strip near the capital “as soon as possible”.
At least 459 people have died according to the World Health Organisation, and thousands of others injured since the power struggle between Sudan’s army and paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) broke out into fighting almost two weeks ago.
More than 2,000 British nationals in Sudan have registered with the Foreign Office under evacuation plans, but thousands more could be in the war-torn country.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Sudan: Relief and joy to be back
Only British passport holders and immediate family members with existing UK entry clearance are being told they are eligible for evacuation.
They have been told to make their own way to the airfield near the capital to be evacuated to Cyprus before being flown on to London.
The home secretary ruled out introducing a safe and legal route for asylum seekers in Sudan to seek refuge in the UK on Wednesday.
Asked whether the UK was going to “start looking at safe routes for refugees from Sudan”, Suella Braverman said “we have no plans to do that” adding that the government’s focus “first and foremost” is to “support British nationals and their dependents”.
Read more:
How can British nationals get to the RAF base?
Traumatised Sudan evacuees describe ‘horrendous’ scenes
But some have criticised the government for being too slow in its “large-scale” evacuation, which started on Tuesday, with other countries like Germany, completing its evacuations on Tuesday night. UK diplomats and their families were evacuated from Sudan on Saturday.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘No plans for safe routes for refugees’
Africa minister Andrew Mitchell said the evacuation mission was “going very smoothly” at the air strip but warned we are “in the hands of the ceasefire”.
He told Sky News “we are doing everything we can” to prolong the truce adding that “if the combatants don’t lay down their arms and return to barracks” there will be a “humanitarian catastrophe” in Sudan.
On Wednesday evening, the chief of Sudan’s army said it had “initially accepted” a plan to extend the ceasefire by another 72 hours.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘Situation in Sudan is dire’
An army statement indicated General Abdel Fattah al Burhan was open to sending an envoy to the capital of South Sudan, Juba, for talks.
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development, an eight-country trade bloc, proposed the truce deal, which includes both the army and the RSF sending representatives to the city discuss the details of a longer ceasefire.
There was no immediate comment from the RSF on the initiative, which, if accepted by both sides, would mark a major breakthrough after days of talks.
The fighting has pushed the population to near breaking point, with food growing more difficult to obtain, 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 into neighbouring countries.
Donald Trump has threatened Russia with more sanctions after a series of deadly strikes across Ukraine, as he said of Vladimir Putin: “What the hell happened to him?”
The US president appeared aghast at the conduct of his counterpart in the Kremlin after drone and missile attacks in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities left 12 people dead and dozens more injured.
Trump criticises Putin – latest updates
Speaking to reporters at an airport in New Jersey ahead of a flight back to Washington, Mr Trump said: “I’m not happy with Putin. I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
“He’s killing a lot of people,” he added. “I’m not happy about that.”
Mr Trump – who said he’s “always gotten along with” Mr Putin – told reporters he would consider more sanctions against Moscow.
“He’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all,” he said.
Ukraine said the barrage of strikes overnight into Sunday was the biggest aerial attack of the war so far, with 367 drones and missiles fired by Russian forces.
It came despite Mr Trump repeatedly talking up the chances of a peace agreement. He even spoke to Mr Putin on the phone for two hours last week.
Read more from Sky News:
Trump says will postpone 50% tariffs on EU until July
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Hundreds of drones fired at Ukraine
‘Shameful’ attacks
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine is ready to sign a ceasefire deal, and suggested Russia isn’t serious about signing one.
In a statement after the latest attacks on his country, he urged the US and other national leaders to increase the pressure on Mr Putin, saying silence “only encourages” him.
Mr Trump’s envoy for the country, Keith Kellogg, later demanded a ceasefire, describing the Russian attacks as “shameful”.
Three children were among those killed in the attacks, explosions shaking the cities of Kyiv, Odesa, and Mykolaiv.
Ukrainian siblings Tamara, 12, Stanislav, eight, and Roman, 17, were killed in Russian airstrikes. Pic: X/@Mariana_Betsa
Before the onslaught, Russia said it had faced a Ukrainian drone attack on Sunday. It said around 100 were intercepted and destroyed near Moscow and in central and southern regions.
The violence has escalated despite Russia and Ukraine completing the exchange of 1,000 prisoners each over the past three days.
Donald Trump says he will delay the imposition of 50% tariffs on goods entering the United States from the European Union until July, as the two sides attempt to negotiate a trade deal.
It comes after the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said in a post on social media site X that she had spoken to Mr Trump and expressed that they needed until 9 July to “reach a good deal”.
The US president had last Friday threatened to bring in the 50% tariffs from 1 June, as European leaders said they were ready to respond with their own measures.
But Mr Trump has now said that date has been put back to 9 July to allow more time for negotiations with the 27-member bloc, with the phone call appearing to smooth over tensions for now at least.
Speaking on Sunday before boarding Air Force One for Washington DC, Mr Trump told reporters that he had spoken to Ms Von der Leyen and she “wants to get down to serious negotiations” and she vowed to “rapidly get together and see if we can work something out”.
The US president, in comments on his Truth Social platform, had reignited fears last Friday of a trade war between the two powers when he said talks were “going nowhere” and the bloc was “very difficult to deal with”.
Mr Trump told the media in Morristown, New Jersey, on Sunday that Ms Von der Leyen “just called me… and she asked for an extension in the June 1st date. And she said she wants to get down to serious negotiation”.
“We had a very nice call and I agreed to move it. I believe July 9th would be the date. That was the date she requested. She said we will rapidly get together and see if we can work something out,” the US president added.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Shortly after, he wrote on Truth Social: “I agreed to the extension – July 9, 2025 – It was my privilege to do so.”
On his so-called “liberation day” last month, Mr Trump unleashed tariffs on many of America’s trade partners. But since then he’s backed down in a spiralling tit-for-tat tariff face-off with China, and struck a deal with the UK.
Read more from Sky News:
Gail’s backer plots rare move with bid for steak chain Flat Iron
AA owners line up banks to steer path towards £4.5bn exit
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
12 May: US and China reach agreement on tariffs
Much of his most incendiary rhetoric on trade has been directed at Brussels, though, even going as far as to claim the EU was created to rip the US off.
Responding to his 50% tariff threat, EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said: “EU-US trade is unmatched and must be guided by mutual respect, not threats.
“We stand ready to defend our interests.”
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway