All British residents should qualify for evacuation from Sudan, Labour has said – amid concerns people could be left behind if the country again descends into fighting.
The government has rejected calls to widen the eligibility for evacuation beyond British passport holders and their immediate family – and is facing both domestic and international criticism over its response.
Warring parties in the north east African country on Thursday night agreed a further three day extension to the ongoing ceasefire, buying more time for people trying to leave the country.
There are concerns that many people eligible to be airlifted out of the country are not coming forward because they would have to leave members of their family behind.
“It cannot be right that NHS doctors and other British residents who worked to protect us throughout the pandemic are being denied the chance to evacuate from the conflict gripping Sudan,” said shadow foreign secretary David Lammy.
“At the same time, British nationals remain stuck as the government refuses to evacuate their dependent, immediate family members.”
As of Thursday evening, the RAF had airlifted nearly 900 people from an airfield near the capital Khartoum. As of Friday afternoon the Foreign Office did not provide an updated figure.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has urged all UK nationals wishing to flee Sudan to come forward “as quickly as possible”, despite the extended truce.
He said that if and when fighting resumed, it might become impossible for people to leave the country.
But Labour’s Mr Lammy said: “We do not underestimate the scale of the challenge faced by Britain’s brave armed forces and FCDO officials who are working around the clock, but the three-day extension to the ceasefire offers an opportunity to get more people to safety while the airlift is ongoing and there is capacity.
“All British nationals, close, dependent relatives of British nationals who are stuck and British residents seeking to flee Sudan should qualify to board evacuation flights. The government must act before the ceasefire ends and it is too late.”
Foreign Affairs Committee chair and Conservative MP Alicia Kearns is also among those calling for the government to widen eligibility. She said the Government should allow elderly people dependent on children who are British citizens to be admitted.
A power struggle between Sudan’s army and paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces descended into fighting almost two weeks ago, with more than 500 people killed and thousands more injured. Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF chief Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo have argued about the country’s proposed move to civilian rule.
