UK evacuation mission from Sudan ends with more than 2,000 people brought to safety
The UK has evacuated 2,197 people to safety from war-torn Sudan, making it the longest and largest airlift by any of the Western nations during the crisis, the Foreign Office has said.
As fighting raged on Monday in the capital, Khartoum, the UK government’s airlift came to an end with two final evacuation flights from Port Sudan on the country’s eastern coast.
Attention now turns to diplomatic and humanitarian efforts as civilian casualties continue to rise amid intense fighting.
The evacuation of British nationals onto an awaiting RAF aircraft at Wadi Seidna Air Base in Khartoum, Sudan
After fighting broke out on 15 April, British diplomats were quickly evacuated in a special military operation a week later, and the government faced criticism for not evacuating British nationals as well.
After a ceasefire was agreed the RAF flew more than 20 flights and the UK deployed over 1,000 personnel to evacuate British nationals, as well as Sudanese doctors and those of other nationalities who work as clinicians within the NHS, and their dependents, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said.
In total, the UK has evacuated 1,087 people from other nations, including the US, Ireland, Netherlands, Canada, Germany and Australia.
Those numbers are expected to be updated tomorrow after the final flights land in Cyprus.
Read more:
‘Death will come to you anywhere’ – mayhem at Port Sudan
Traumatised Sudan evacuees describe ‘horrendous’ scenes
Explainer: What’s behind the Sudan fighting?
On Saturday, the UK stopped evacuation flights from an airfield north of the capital, Khartoum, due to what the government said was a “significant decline” in the number of Britons coming forward, and an “increasingly volatile” situation on the ground.
The evacuation operation then moved to Port Sudan where a UK team was set up to provide consular assistance to any remaining British nationals. The Royal Navy ship HMS Lancaster was also deployed to the port to assist in the evacuation efforts.
British Consular Support Centre at the Coral Hotel
In a statement, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly hailed the “extraordinary” efforts of the UK evacuation teams, and added: “As the focus turns to humanitarian and diplomatic efforts, we will continue to do all we can to press for a long-term ceasefire and an immediate end to the violence in Sudan.”
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace added that the British armed forces had “led the way” in evacuating nationals.
“In one week, the RAF has flown more than 20 flights, deployed over a thousand personnel, evacuated over 2,000 civilians and helped citizens from more than 20 countries to get home,” he said.
“HMS Lancaster will remain at Port Sudan and her crew will continue to help provide support.”
The attention of UK teams now turns to diplomacy and humanitarian aid.
Smoke rises above buildings after an aerial bombardment, during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum North, Sudan
International Development Minister Andrew Mitchell has spent the weekend in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, to meet with Kenyan President William Samoei Ruto and African Union Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat to discuss the conflict.
Meanwhile, the UK’s ambassador to Sudan – who faced criticism for not being in the country when the fighting broke out – has been deployed to Addis Ababa to work on the UK’s response from the British Embassy in Ethiopia.
The civilian death toll has risen upwards of 411 and the number of injured to more than 2,023, according to the Sudan Doctors’ Syndicate, which measures casualties.
UK officials and medics are meeting the evacuees at an airport in Cyprus
More than 50,000 Sudanese refugees – mostly women and children – have crossed over into Chad, Egypt, South Sudan and the Central African Republic since the crisis began, the United Nations said.
The UK government has urged British nationals who remain in Sudan to continue to follow the government’s travel advice, saying that the situation remains “volatile”.
Consular assistance remains available at Port Sudan, which has become the country’s de-facto administrative capital as fighting rages in Khartoum.
Rory McIlroy has completed a career Grand Slam in golf with his win at the US Masters tournament.
The Masters was the last major tournament left for McIlroy to complete the modern golf Grand Slam – a feat only five others have managed before him.
McIlroy, who was making his 11th attempt at completing the Grand Slam, faced off Justin Rose in a sudden-death playoff to decide the Masters champion, after they finished tied on 11 under at the end of regulation on Sunday.
McIlroy reacts as he wins. Pic: AP
McIlroy reacts after winning against Justin Rose at the Masters. Pic: AP
“It’s my 17th time here and I started to wonder if it would ever be my time,” McIlroy said just before slipping on the Green Jacket during the presentation ceremony.
“I’m just absolutely honoured and thrilled and just so proud to be able to call myself a Masters champion.”
McIlroy had missed his six-foot putt for par, a bogey which dropped him back to 11 under, where he joined Rose – leading to a dramatic play-off between the two.
Only five other golfers have been able to complete a career Grand Slam, including Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen.
Pic: AP
McIlroy is a two-time winner of the PGA Championship, claiming the prize in 2012 and 2014.
The 35-year-old also won his first major title, the US Open, in 2011, and won The Open Championship in 2014.
How did McIlroy get to the victory?
McIlroy recovered from losing his overnight two-shot advantage with an opening-hole double bogey to initially take control at Augusta National, only to blow a four-shot lead over his closing six holes.
The world No 2 bogeyed the last to close a one-over 73 and slip back to 11 under alongside Rose, who overturned a seven-stroke deficit and posted a stunning final-round 66 to force a play-off.
The players returned to the 18th for the play-off, where McIlroy made amends for his 72nd-hole blunder by firing a stunning approach to within three feet of the pin and making the birdie putt required for a life-changing win.
UK
Race to keep British Steel furnaces running with last-minute efforts to secure raw materials under way
Last-minute efforts to keep British Steel operating are to be carried out today, as the plant races to secure a supply of raw materials.
The Department for Business and Trade said officials are working to secure supplies of materials, including coking coal, to keep British Steel operational, as well as to ensure all staff will be paid.
It added that setting up new supply chains was “crucial” as a fall in blast furnace temperature could risk “irreparable damage to the site, with the steel setting and scarring the machinery”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
British Steel: What happens next?
Companies including Tata – which ran the now-closed Port Talbot steelworks – and Rainham Steel have offered managerial support and materials to keep the Lincolnshire site running.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said in a statement that “when I said steelmaking has a future in the UK, I meant it”.
“Steel is vital for our national security and our ambitious plans for the housing, infrastructure and manufacturing sectors in the UK,” he added.
“We will set out a long-term plan to co-invest with the private sector to ensure steel in the UK has a bright and sustainable future.”
Unions said Jingye decided to cancel orders of key materials for the steelworks
Earlier this month, unions said the steelwork’s owner, Chinese company Jingye, decided to cancel future orders for the iron ore, coal and other raw materials needed to keep the furnaces running.
It meant the Scunthorpe plant had been on course to close down by May, bit it sparked urgent calls for government intervention.
Emergency legislation was passed on Saturday bringing the steelworks into effective government control, and officials were on site as soon as the new legislation came into force.
However, the business secretary has warned that does not mean the plant is guaranteed to survive.
Appearing on Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Mr Reynolds also said he would not bring a Chinese company into the “sensitive” steel sector again.
“I don’t know… the Boris Johnson government when they did this, what exactly the situation was,” he added. “But I think it’s a sensitive area.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘I wouldn’t bring a Chinese company into our steel sector’
Jingye stepped in with a deal to buy British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant out of insolvency in 2020, when Mr Johnson was prime minister.
The minister added that while The Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill stops short of the full nationalisation of British Steel, “to be frank, as I said to parliament yesterday, it is perhaps at this stage the likely option”.
The Conservatives accused the government of acting “too late” and implementing a “botched nationalisation” after ignoring warnings about the risk to the steelworks.
Read more:
A sticking plaster, not a solution: What next for British Steel?
How Trump, China and Reform all played their part
Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith said: “The Labour Government have landed themselves in a steel crisis entirely of their own making.
“They’ve made poor decisions and let the unions dictate their actions.”
-
Sports2 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
-
Sports1 year 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