Rishi Sunak holds emergency meeting on Sudan violence amid evacuation reports
It is not yet clear whether an evacuation will take place. ITV News Correspondent Libby Wiener has the latest
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has held an emergency Cobra meeting to discuss assistance for the British nationals trapped in Sudan as fighting continues in the African country.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) confirmed that the morning meeting in the Cabinet Office was attended by Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Africa minister Andrew Mitchell.
Government officials said they are "doing everything possible" to support those still inside the country's capital, Khartoum.
It comes after the Sudanese Army said it will facilitate the evacuation of British, American, French and Chinese diplomats and nationals from Sudan.
Military officials said they would help evacuate foreigners in the coming hours on military planes as fighting entered its second week, however the Foreign Office has not confirmed an evacuation is imminent.
More than 400 people have died over the past week in Sudan, while there are said to be 7,000 foreign nationals trapped in the country.
Their situation is said to be becoming ever more perilous, with British nationals telling ITV News they feel "abandoned" and "failed" by the government as people run out of food and water.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said it was planning for a wide range of scenarios, alongside the Foreign Office, on how it could assist in Sudan.
Reports are suggesting the British Army is on standby to help with a potential evacuation, while the MoD pointed out that a high-readied armed forces unit is always ready to be deployed should they be required.
A UK Government spokesperson said: “We recognise that the situation is extremely concerning for British nationals trapped by the fighting in Sudan.
“We are doing everything possible to support British nationals and diplomatic staff in Khartoum, and the Ministry of Defence is working with the Foreign Office to prepare for a number of contingencies.”
Those held up in Sudan are advised to register with the FCDO and to stay indoors, with skirmishes taking place even in residential areas.
ITV News understands the British Embassy in Khartoum has been trying to contact British nationals, compiling a list of where people are so they can be rescued and taken to a place of safety should there be an evacuation.
The Sudanese army is battling a powerful rival paramilitary in and around Khartoum.
Prospects of airlifting people out of Sudan have been complicated by the fact most major airports in the country have become battlegrounds and movement out of the capital has proven dangerous.
In the US, the Pentagon said earlier this week it was moving additional troops and equipment to a naval base in the tiny Gulf of Aden nation of Djibouti to prepare for the evacuation of US embassy personnel.
But the White House said on Friday that it had no plans for a government co-ordinated evacuation of an estimated 16,000 American citizens trapped in Sudan.
Mr Sunak on Friday spoke with the president of Djibouti, Ismail Omar Guelleh.
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While no mention of using the nation’s airbases was made in the readout from Downing Street, a No 10 spokesman said the two leaders agreed to “continue to co-ordinate efforts to de-escalate the violence and protect civilians, including our citizens”.
There are no signs of the trouble abating as yet.
Even as the warring sides said on Friday that they had agreed to a ceasefire for the three-day Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, explosions and gunfire rang out across Khartoum on Saturday.
Two ceasefire attempts earlier this week also rapidly collapsed.
Britain has historic ties to Sudan. In an unusual arrangement, Britain and Egypt jointly ruled Sudan from 1899 until it gained independence in 1956, but Sudan is not among the group of 56 Commonwealth nations.