US diplomats airlifted from Sudan as UK to evacuate British staff 'as soon as feasible'

American diplomats and their families have been airlifted from Sudan, while a UK government source vowed British Embassy staff will be evacuated "as soon as is feasible".

Biden administration officials said American troops who airlifted the US Embassy staff out of the capital Khartoum early on Sunday have safely left the Sudanese airspace.

Ministers in Britain are keen to help UK officials to exit the African country but a UK Government source said any evacuation would be "incredibly limited" and focused on the small number of British civil servants based in Khartoum.

Safety fears have grown following increasing attacks on diplomatic missions, the source said.

Sudan is currently in its second week of bloody internal fighting between the Sudanese army and a powerful paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces.

British embassy staff will be rescued from Sudan, a UK government source said on Saturday - but the Foreign Office played down reports that an evacuation is imminent, as Libby Wiener reports

The warring sides in Sudan said they were helping to coordinate the evacuation of foreigners - but continued exchanges of fire in Khartoum undermined those claims.

The Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group said the US rescue mission involved six aircraft and that it had coordinated evacuation efforts with the US.

But US officials denied the group did anything to help the evacuation.

Under Secretary of State for Management, John Bass, said: “You may have seen some assertions in social media in recent hours, that the Rapid Security Forces somehow coordinated with us and supported this operation. That was not the case.

“They cooperated to the extent that they did not fire on our service members in the course of the operation.”

Any British military effort to help airlift people out of the country is not expected to be on the same scale as seen in Afghanistan in 2021, especially given the UK does not have a substantial diplomatic or military footprint in Sudan.

Britons in the warring nation are continuing to be advised to ensure they have registered their presence with the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) and to stay indoors.

"Due to the increasing attacks on diplomatic missions, we will be evacuating our HMG staff as soon as feasible," a UK Government source said.

"It's likely any evacuation will be incredibly limited due to the small number of UK staff in the country, and British nationals should remain in a place of shelter.

"There is currently no suggestion British nationals are being actively targeted by armed factions."

The source said UK options were "likely to be extremely limited for the foreseeable". They added: "We do not expect any major change in our travel advice to Sudan for British nationals in the coming days."

Earlier, the Sudanese army said it was co-ordinating efforts to evacuate foreign citizens and diplomats from Sudan on military aircraft - including Britons, Americans, French and Chinese - after speaking with the leaders of several countries that had requested help.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) would not confirm whether it was assisting with the suggested plans.

The White House also would not confirm the Sudanese military’s announcement.

A source in the British MoD said it was planning for a wide range of scenarios, alongside the Foreign Office, on how it could assist in Sudan.

With reports suggesting the British Army is on standby to help with a potential evacuation, the MoD pointed out that a high-readied armed forces unit is always on hand to be deployed should they be required.

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.

The two rivals have dug in, signalling they would resume the fighting after a three-day cease-fire that was declared at sundown on Friday.

Questions have swirled over how the mass rescues of foreign citizens would unfold, with Sudan's main international airport closed and millions of people sheltering indoors.

As battles between the Sudanese army and the powerful paramilitary group rage in and around Khartoum, including in residential areas, foreign countries have struggled to repatriate their citizens — many trapped in their homes as food supplies dwindle.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday chaired the fourth emergency Cobra meeting on the Sudan situation. He was joined by Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Africa minister Andrew Mitchell for the discussions.

A UK Government spokesman 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."

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Battles continue to rage in and around Khartoum between the Sudanese army led by Army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Burhan and his rival paramilitary group.

The clashes have killed more than 400 people so far, according to the World Health Organisation.

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.