Category: Foreign

British nationals trapped in Sudan have said they feel “abandoned” by the UK Government as the Foreign Secretary warned that help will remain “severely limited” until a ceasefire is reached.

James Cleverly has faced questions about why British diplomats had been prioritised over other UK citizens following a night-time evacuation mission to rescue embassy staff from the African nation as internal warring rages on.

Some UK nationals stranded inside the country, who were advised to register their presence with the Foreign Office and shelter in place, were organising private evacuations as the prospect of help remained limited.

Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the Commons Defence Committee, tweeted that safe routes should be established for “the few thousand UK passport holders still in Sudan”.

More than 1,000 British passport holders have registered with the Foreign Office and there are “easily a couple more thousand” who have not yet done so, he told the BBC.

William, a UK citizen in Sudan, told the broadcaster he was forced to “go private” and leave the capital, Khartoum, on a bus arranged by his Sudanese employer because “we’ve had absolutely nothing but nonsense from the Government”.

Rozan Ahmed, a British-Sudanese woman stuck in the city since travelling to the country to attend her cousin’s funeral nine days ago, said there has been no communication from the British Embassy about being evacuated.

“I have been hiding under my bed for the last six hours, the area where I stay has been shelled to shreds,” she told Sky News.

“This has been the most harrowing experience of my life and my only focus right now is to get to my mother, who is probably more pained than I am, and I need to understand why we are still here.”

Read Also: UK PM confirms complete evacuation of British diplomats from Sudan

Iman Abugarga, a British woman who has been sheltering in Khartoum, said she feels “absolutely” abandoned by the British Government.

“It is shameful how they have mismanaged this situation,” she told the Telegraph.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed on Sunday that there had been a “complex and rapid” evacuation of British diplomats and their families from Khartoum, a city gripped by an internal battle for control between rival generals.

More than 400 people have died and thousands have been injured in a bloody conflict between the Sudanese army and a powerful paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Mr Cleverly told broadcasters that the Government had decided to temporarily close the British Embassy in Khartoum and swoop in to remove staff after “specific threats” were directed towards diplomats.

He chaired a sixth emergency Sudan Cobra session late on Sunday to discuss the “escalation” of violence.

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).

He said C-130 Hercules and A400 Airbus aircraft were deployed to “go in and collect our diplomats and their residents, and fly out to safety”.

Labour praised the “bravery and professionalism” of the armed forces in carrying out the evacuation.

But senior Opposition MPs said they remain “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.”

Their comments came after the Irish Government confirmed it plans to send a team to Sudan to evacuate Irish citizens.

The Sudanese Junior Doctors Association UK said it is aware of 71 NHS doctors who are currently trapped in Sudan.

“We are concerned for their safety and the safety of their spouses and children,” the organisation tweeted.

“These are UK citizens or residents and a mixture of consultants and junior doctors.

“The situation is worsening and they need immediate evacuation from this war zone.”

The Foreign Secretary said the decision to close the British Embassy in Khartoum and remove officials for redeployment within the region would help strengthen diplomatic efforts.

Mr Cleverly said the Conservative administration remains “absolutely committed to supporting” Britons in the country.

But he said that, without an end to the fighting, ministers are “severely limited in our ability to provide assistance to British nationals”.

Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the Commons Defence Committee said the UK Government needs a “clear-cut plan” to get British nationals out of Sudan.

The Conservative MP told GB News: “What we require is a clearcut plan as to how to get British passport-holders out.

“If that plan does not emerge today, then individuals will then lose faith and then start making their own way back.”

He warned that could lead to “some very difficult situations”.

“So it is important that we seek clarity on how, now that the diplomats are out, how does everybody else get out.”

The situation there was “very dangerous”, with the lack of electricity hamp

The prospect of airlifting large numbers of people out of Sudan has been complicated by the fact that most major airports have become battlegrounds and movement out of the capital has proved perilous.

US special forces also evacuated about 70 American staff from Khartoum on Sunday but Washington has so far said it remains too dangerous to carry out a government co-ordinated mass evacuation of citizens.

France, Greece and other European countries have said they are organising evacuations for embassy employees and nationals, along with some citizens of allied countries.

On Sunday, Mr Sunak spoke with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, with the two leaders sharing their “deep concerns on the escalation in violence”.

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.

No 10 said Mr Sunak also thanked Egypt for its support in the evacuation of British staff.

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The three Baltic states have strongly condemned comments by China’s envoy to France, who appeared to suggest in a recent French television interview that former Soviet republics aren’t sovereign nations.

The foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in separate announcements late Saturday deemed statements by Lu Shaye, China’s ambassador to France, as unacceptable.

In a recent interview with the French news channel LCI, he was asked if he thought that the Crimean Peninsula belongs to Ukraine. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, a move that most of the world denounced as illegal.

“That depends … on how one perceives this problem,” the envoy told the broadcaster. “There’s the history. Crimea was at the beginning Russian, no? It was (Soviet leader Nikita) Khrushchev who gave Crimea to Ukraine in the era of the Soviet Union.”

When the channel’s presenter noted that according to international law, Crimea is part of Ukraine, the Chinese ambassador drew a parallel to the former Soviet republics — including the three Baltic nations — that broke free after the USSR collapsed in 1991.

“With regards to international law, even these ex-Soviet Union countries, they do not, they do not have the status — how to say it? — that’s effective in international law, because there is no international agreement to solidify their status as a sovereign country,” he said.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis tweeted, “If anyone is still wondering why the Baltic States don’t trust China to ‘broker peace in Ukraine,’ here’s a Chinese ambassador arguing that Crimea is Russian and our countries’ borders have no legal basis.”

His Estonian counterpart, Margus Tsahkna, said the Chinese ambassador’s comments were “false and a misinterpretation of history,” while Latvian Foreign Minister Edgar Rinkevics said that the statements were “completely unacceptable.”

Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius would each summon China’s ambassador or representative for an explanation of the envoy’s comments, the three Baltic countries said. European Union and NATO members Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania regained their independence in 1991 amid the fall of the Soviet Union after nearly five decades of Moscow’s rule.

In a separate statement, France’s foreign ministry expressed concern about the ambassador’s comments about ex-Soviet states and said: “It’s for China to say whether these comments reflect its position, which we hope is not the case.”

The French ministry said these countries gained independence “after decades of oppression” and that in the specific case of Ukraine, “the entirety of the international community, including China,” recognized its borders, including Crimea, when it declared independence in 1991.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Sunday criticized the Chinese ambassador’s “unacceptable remarks” on former Soviet republics’ sovereignty.

“The EU can only suppose these declarations do not represent China’s official policy,” he tweeted.

President Vladimir Putin of Russia, which is China’s ally, has said several times that he doesn’t recognise the sovereignty of Ukraine. The Kremlin also has made clear that it perceives the independence of the Baltic states and their active role in NATO and the EU as threats to Russia’s security.

•’Solution to insecurity, instability embedded in root causes’

Italy considers Nigeria one of its major economic and security partners in Africa, according to Italy’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Stefano De Leo.

De Leo said as such, Italy would seek to work closely with Nigeria’s in-coming administration to improve the level of bilateral and multilateral cooperation involving the two countries.

The ambassador disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

For both nations, uncertainty, crime rate, violence, security issues are top on the agenda; we need to find common solutions. We need inclusive solutions and must discuss the solutions in a main international fora.

“We are members of the European Union. In the United Nations system, Nigeria is increasingly playing a strategic role, especially when it comes to economy and security.

“On May 29, a new administration will come in. From that moment, we have to find ways to improve and increase our cooperation in many fields.

“We shall look at where Nigeria is strategic, starting from oil and gas. We shall also go into other economic issues and also issues that are concerning the global security balance.

“So, Nigeria is a major player without whom we cannot decide worldwide balances in security issues,” he said.

The ambassador said that Italy had been a colossus in the fashion world for centuries and that cooperation between the two countries in fashion and art would provide them with the impetus to be global giants in the industry.

According to him, Italy is a superpower in the fashion world today because it is a major player playing a dominant role in the industry.

“I must say that we can learn from the talents here in Nigeria. Nigeria can also learn from Italy.

“We are known for the beauties of centuries past.””

De Leo said that knowledge sharing and exchange of information would enable Italy to identify development opportunities in many fields such as sports, economy, politics, arts and culture.

“With more knowledge on these sectors, Italy and Nigeria will work together to strengthen our relations,” he said.

The envoy said he had been holding meetings with some state governors in Nigeria towards deepening economic and cultural cooperation with Italy.

“The meetings also seek to reach common grounds on the refugee question.

“We want to see and to have an overall view of Nigeria and to get inspiration from our meetings; we need to develop and translate actions that are based on diplomatic ties that can touch culture, politics, economy, refugee and also to collaborate with Italian companies in areas necessary,” he said.

He said it was impossible to stop migration because it “serves as a boosting element in economic prosperity and international relations.

“Migration has always been a boosting element in international relations.

“Migration is a sign of growth and it means people want to make themselves better.

“What we can do is to offer legal structures to increase migration and to find, apprehend and prosecute those who exploit people interested in migrating.

“Migration is a double-standard activity. So, we need to improve the legal structures and channels and fight those who want to exploit migrants.

“These exploiters exploit the interest to migrate for personal reasons and crime-related activities; they need to be stopped.’’

Responding to a question on what the Italian government is doing to help Nigeria tackle insecurity, the ambassador identified proper education as an important approach.

This, he said, is because education empowers members of society, including women and the youth, in politics and other aspects of their lives.

“In our Italian way, security and stability cannot be ensured and achieved by military action alone.

“We have to touch the root causes which is the best way to curb insecurity in our country.

“We have to touch the root causes. So, we have our Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), who are working here in Nigeria, and who support efforts at addressing security issues.

“We are working mainly in Nigeria with the European Union to address the root causes which are education, empowerment of society and politics which plays a big role in the lives of youth and women.

“We are not directly involved in fighting those who commit crimes or terrorists, but we are basically working to address the root causes which are not very visible.

•Canada suspends consular services

The Irish government has confirmed it is sending a team to evacuate its citizens from Sudan.

It comes as hundreds of people have died in a conflict between the Sudanese army and paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces.

Following a cabinet meeting yesterday, the government approved the deployment of an Emergency Civil Assistance Team (ECAT) mission to assist with the process of evacuating Irish citizens and their dependents from the crisis.

Up to 12 defence forces personnel would be deployed initially to Djibouti as part of the ECAT mission.

They were due to arrive in Djibouti yesterday.

The Irish government indicated that the duration of the mission would be dependent on the progress that could be made, the security situation on the ground and decisions on extraction by partners.

They said they were in contact with Irish citizens who had registered with the embassy and every effort was being made to assist them.

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Irish premier Leo Varadkar said an estimated 150 Irish nationals were in Sudan.

“The situation in the Sudanese capital Khartoum has got worse in the last few days, and violence is being reported across the city,” he said.

“The Irish defence forces personnel and department of foreign affairs officers being deployed will make every effort to provide advice and assistance to the 150 or so Irish nationals in Sudan.”

“The situation on the ground in Sudan remains extremely volatile and I wish the ECAT and defence forces team every success in this mission.”

Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheal Martin said the decision was a “continuation of the substantial, intensive work that the department of foreign affairs has been engaged in since this recent outbreak of violence in Sudan”.

“Above all, our primary aim is to offer our citizens every assistance through what has been an extremely difficult and challenging time,” he said.

Irish premier Leo Varadkar said the situation in the Sudanese capital Khartoum ‘had got worse in the last few days’

“If urgent, the embassy’s out-of-hours consular assistance phone line can be contacted at +254 716 353 999, and the department of foreign affairs can be contacted at +353 1 408 2000,” they added.

Alao, Canada suspended its consular services in Sudan yesterday, saying a rapidly deteriorating situation has made it impossible to safeguard the safety and security of its staff in the capital city of Khartoum.

Hundreds have been killed and thousands injured in just 10 days after power-sharing negotiations between the country’s armed forces and its paramilitary troops rapidly deteriorated.

“The situation in Sudan has rapidly deteriorated making it impossible to safeguard the safety and security of our staff,” Global Affairs Canada said in a statement. “After consulting with Canada’s Ambassador to Sudan, the decision has been made to temporarily suspend our operations in Sudan.

Canadian diplomats will temporarily work from a safe location outside of the country, the statement said, adding that they will continue working with others to coordinate the response to Sudan’s crisis.

Canada’s decision came as U.S. special operations forces carried out a precarious evacuation of the American embassy in Sudan on Sunday, sweeping in and out of the capital with helicopters on the ground for less than an hour. No shots were fired and no major casualties were reported.

With the last U.S. employee of the embassy out, Washington shuttered the U.S. mission in Khartoum indefinitely. Left behind were thousands of private American citizens remaining in the east African country.

The New York Times reports that U.S. special forces evacuated six Canadian diplomats, while the BBC says Canadians are among a group evacuated by sea to Saudi Arabia. Global Affairs did not immediately confirm those reports.

As of Saturday, 1,596 Canadian citizens were formally registered as being in Sudan, though experts say the figure is likely much higher.

Twenty-one bodies have been dug out of their graves by Kenyan police in Malindi, a coastal town in the southeastern part of the country.

According to the BBC, 15 members of the Good News International Church were rescued from shallow graves in the Shakahola forest.

Kenya Broadcasting Station (KBC) said that 58 graves have so far been identified, adding that dead children were among those that have been exhumed.

Meanwhile, Paul Mackenzie Nthenge, the founder of the church, also known as the “cult leader”, though in police custody, has denied any wrongdoing.

Nthenge was arrested on April 15 after four bodies suspected of having starved themselves to death were discovered by the police.

The preacher was said to have instructed his congregation to starve themselves in order to “meet Jesus”.

“In one grave, investigators found the bodies of three children with their father on one side and their mother on the other side. Another grave contained the bodies of a woman and a girl, both facing each other. All appeared to have died in recent weeks,” a police source told AFP news agency.

“Police have identified at least 58 suspected graves on the grounds of the Good News International Church, raising fears that the death toll will rise significantly. One Kenyan media outlet reported that more than 100 people may have been buried in the graves.

“We have not even scratched the surface which gives a clear indication that we are likely to get more bodies by the end of this exercise.”

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