The UK government said it’s ended evacuation flights from Sudan given reduced demand and the volatile situation on the ground.
(Bloomberg) — The UK government said it’s ended evacuation flights from Sudan given reduced demand and the volatile situation on the ground.
More than 1,888 people — the majority of them British nationals and their dependents — were pulled out of the African country on 21 flights that started Tuesday, according to a press release.
“We continue to press all diplomatic levers to secure a long-term cease-fire and end the bloodshed in Sudan,” Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said. “Ultimately a stable transition to civilian rule is the best way to protect the security and prosperity of the Sudanese people.”
Read more: UK Defends Sudan Diplomatic Evacuation as Citizens Trapped
The UK was previously criticized for its decision to evacuate diplomats from Khartoum while offering only limited assistance to British citizens caught up in the fighting, with a flurry of complaints from those in Sudan about being “abandoned” carried by media including the BBC.
Hundreds of people have been killed and tens of thousands are fleeing as the war tears Sudan apart, despite cease-fire pledges from the army and the rival Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group that have been battling for control of the resource-rich nation since April 15.
Read more: Sudan’s Neighbors Pay the Price as Rival Forces Vie for Power
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