MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th April, 2023) Around 4,000 UK citizens have been stuck in Sudan torn by ongoing armed clashes, with many Britons accusing the UK government of "abandoning" them after evacuating the diplomatic corps, UK media reported on Monday.
On Sunday, many countries launched operations to evacuate their citizens and diplomats from Sudan after the parties to the conflict � the Sudanese armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group � committed to a three-day religious ceasefire. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said later that day that the United Kingdom had evacuated its diplomats and their families in a "complex and rapid" operation.
However, several thousands of ordinary UK citizens have remained "trapped" in Sudan, receiving no help from the government other than recommendations to "stay inside," the Daily Mail newspaper reported, adding that some people were trying to make their own way out of the country after losing hope in the UK authorities.
Governments of other countries, including France, Germany and the Netherlands, managed to evacuate their citizens, while UK officials focused their efforts on rescuing only diplomats and their families, the report said.
Later on Monday, The Times reported that the UK was preparing to send two military ships � RFA Cardigan Bay and HMS Lancaster � to Port Sudan to assist with evacuation from the African country. It might take two-three days for the ships to reach Sudan from the middle East where they have taken part in naval drills, the newspaper reported.
Violent clashes broke out between the Sudanese regular army and the RSF on April 15, with the epicenter located in Khartoum. Government forces accused the RSF of mutiny and launched airstrikes against their bases. Abdel Fattah Burhan, the head of the Sudanese military, issued a decree disbanding the RSF. The sides agreed to a three-day truce starting Friday for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.
So far, around 600 people have died in the clashes, the Sudanese Health Ministry said on Friday. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization reported that over 3,500 people had been injured.
