Sudan rivals 'agree to 72-hour ceasefire'

ITV News' International Affairs Editor Rageh Omaar is in Djibouti with the latest on evacuation plans for British nationals in Sudan.

And Global Security Editor Rohit Kachroo explains why it is so difficult to pull people out of the war-torn country

A ceasefire in Sudan has been agreed and will "last for 72 hours," according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

He said the ceasefire would begin at midnight, on April 24.

The agreement between the Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, and the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, came "following intense negotiation over the past 48 hours," Blinken said.

The SAF and RSF have said they had agreed to multiple ceasefires over the past 10 days, all of which broke down.

"During this period, the United States urges the SAF and RSF to immediately and fully uphold the ceasefire," Mr Blinken said.

Previously agreed ceasefires have not held but if the three-day cessation of fighting holds it could create an opportunity to get much-needed critical resources like food and medical supplies to those in need.

The UK is said to be pursuing "all diplomatic avenues" to evacuate up to 4,000 UK citizens stranded in Sudan - but there is no immediate plan to do so, according to a minister who attended the prime minister's emergency COBRA meeting.

RFA Cardigan Bay and HMS Lancaster were being lined up as options to help people out of the region, where at least 2,000 UK citizens remain after British diplomats were removed.

The government is facing mounting pressure to pull all remaining Brits out of Sudan as violence intensifies, but foreign secretary James Cleverly has said without a ceasefire any help will remain "severely limited".

There is gathering momentum by Western nations to airlift their citizens out of Sudan, and other European countries, including France, have managed to bring hundreds of their citizens home safely.

The UK pulled out its diplomatic staff on Sunday, but thousands of Brits still stuck in the war-torn country have been left feeling frightened and forgotten.

Foreign Office minister Andrew Mitchell, who attended the prime minister's COBRA meeting earlier on Monday, said ministers would "bend every sinew" to help British citizens in the country if it was possible to do so.

But he warned a concrete plan had not yet been drawn up and urged UK nationals to stay indoors until they hear otherwise.

A team of British troops were understood to have been flown into Port Sudan to scope out the options for any rescue mission of civilians.

A defence source told ITV News: "Our frigate we have in the region is positioning, wisely, towards the area to keep that option open, because we do want to do all we can to support the posture."

The source said the situation in Sudan was different to the crisis in Afghanistan because although the evacuation of Kabul looked bad, British troops were on the ground and no fighting was taking place.

He said the situation is "Khartoum is more dynamic" with daily fighting in the capital.

Fighting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group has so far killed more than 420 and left at least 3,700 injured since violence broke out over a week ago.

The escalating conflict has all the hallmarks of becoming a full civil war, raising fears of a humanitarian disaster and wider violence in the region.

ITV News understands that preparations are being made to evacuate people from nearby Djibouti, now a regional focal point for people to be rescued out of Sudan.

Why is it so difficult to get British nationals out of Sudan?

ITV News Global Security Editor Rohit Kachroo said the ferocity and the unpredictability of this conflict makes it extremely dangerous and difficult to pull people out of Sudan.

"People have been comparing it to the fall of Kabul in Afghanistan, but in reality, there is no comparison between those two situations.

"As one diplomat said to me this evening, 'there are war zones - and there are war zones'.

"What is perhaps not reassuring for many of those Brits who are stuck there, is this statement from the government that the answer to this is a ceasefire because the prospects of a ceasefire in the very near future seem to be incredibly unlikely," he said.

There is a British reconnaissance team on the ground scoping out a safe passage, he said. One route may be a protected convoy from Khartoum towards Port Sudan, the similar route that was used by the United Nations on Sunday to evacuate its staff, Kachroo reports.

British nationals trapped in the African nation have been told to "stay indoors and await further information", as the government comes under mounting pressure to bring them to safety.

Rishi Sunak’s official spokesman said the government was “working around the clock” to support those remaining.

“We will pull every lever possible to help bring about a ceasefire and equally to support British nationals trapped by fighting,” the official said.

“It’s been a very fast-moving and complex situation. I think, as demonstrated over the weekend, we moved very swiftly in what was very challenging circumstances to safely evacuate the diplomats from Sudan,” the prime minister’s official spokesperson said.

Alicia Kearns, Tory chairwoman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, estimated there could be “3,000, 4,000 plus” British nationals trapped in Sudan, who would be in “abject fear”, with reports of some people killing their pets “because they’re worried they’re going to starve”.

Some in Sudan said they felt “abandoned” after diplomats were rescued in a night-time evacuation mission, and were organising dangerous private evacuations.

Foreign Office minister Andrew Mitchell told MPs on Monday that British nationals who choose to move for safety within war-torn Sudan do so at their own risk.

He said the safety of British nationals in Sudan was the “utmost priority” of the government, adding the Foreign Office was looking at “every single possible option”.

Mr Mitchell emphasised that a ceasefire was the best way to guarantee the safety of British nationals in Sudan, echoing the foreign secretary who has previously warned that UK government efforts to provide assistance to those stuck in Sudan will remain "severely limited" until a truce is reached.

Mr Cleverly chaired a sixth Sudan COBRA session, on Sunday, to discuss the "escalation" of violence in Sudan between two rival forces vying for control of the resources-rich country.

Foreign Office minister Andrew Mitchell said that stranded British nationals should 'stay indoors and await further information'

Earlier, Mr Mitchell called on people in Sudan to stay indoors and await further information.

"The situation outside on the streets of Khartoum is incredibly dangerous. We recognise that some people with intensive local knowledge may make other decisions, but they do so at their own risk," he said.

The defence source told ITV News: “If you tell people to stay at home they may be less likely to get shot. But the availability of food and water in the city is increasingly limited. If you tell people to leave home it's towards safety. Then they get closer to food and water but they might be at increased risk. And that makes it very difficult to work out how we best support the people that are there.”

On Sunday, Mr Cleverly faced questions about why British diplomats had been prioritised over other Sudan-based UK citizens, following a night time evacuation mission to rescue embassy staff.

The prime minister confirmed there had been a "complex and rapid" evacuation for British diplomats and their families from the capital Khartoum on Sunday.

Downing Street said the race to get British diplomats out of Sudan was “informed by lessons learned” from the chaotic Afghanistan evacuation, a statement disputed by Tory MPs.

Any further UK evacuations are thought to be further complicated due to the size of the country and consequent scale any rescue operation would need to match - Sudan is roughly eight times the size of the UK.

Mr Cleverly said the government had decided to temporarily close the British Embassy in Khartoum and swoop in to remove staff, after "specific threats" had been directed towards diplomats.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told BBC News the mission had been "dangerous and precarious", with 1,200 personnel involved from the British Army, Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force (RAF).

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know.

The official advice continues to be for UK nationals to register their presence in Sudan with the Foreign Office and shelter in place. According to the prime minister's official spokesperson, around 2,000 people have completed the registration process, with others urged to do so at the earliest opportunity.

Basra Khalifa has relatives in the country, and told ITV News: "It's wild. If every other country, the small little countries, have the ability to pull the people out and to get them out. How are the British government just standing by and saying, 'stay indoors'?

"Stay indoors and do what? Like, hope for the best and hope you don't get killed? It's maddening."

Meanwhile, senior opposition MPs have said they remained "deeply concerned" about the welfare of British nationals still in Sudan.

In a joint statement, shadow foreign secretary David Lammy and shadow defence secretary John Healey said: "We need to know about government plans to help them and the steps the UK is taking to support an immediate ceasefire."

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer tweeted: "I desperately hope that those still stuck in the conflict are brought to safety as soon as possible."

The current explosion of violence comes after two generals fell out over a recent internationally brokered deal with democracy activists, which was meant to incorporate the RSF into the military and eventually lead to civilian rule.

What did Boris Johnson really know about Downing Street’s notorious parties? With fresh revelations from our sources, in their own words, listen to the definitive behind-closed-doors story of one of the biggest scandals of our era