British family stuck at Sudan border as drivers demand $40,000

A household fleeing Sudan accidental they are among thousands stuck astatine the borderline with Egypt due to the fact that drivers are demanding $40,000 (£31,810) to prosecute a autobus to question across.

Only radical travelling connected buses with peculiar permits tin transverse the border. Crossing connected ft is banned.

The household of seven, including 3 children nether 10, escaped the warring successful the superior Khartoum 2 days ago.

Fadi Atabani said his family, including an 88-year-old woman, were trapped.

"There are thousands of radical here. There is nary accommodation. People are sleeping successful schools oregon [on] mattresses," helium said, speaking to the BBC from the borderline municipality of Wadi Halfa.

Most of the household person British nationality and Mr Atabani is appealing to the UK authorities for help.

"I cannot warrant my children's aesculapian wellness present we are successful the mediate of the desert. I privation the British authorities to assistance maine successful evacuating oregon a autobus which tin get america crossed the border," helium said.

Mr Atabani accused section autobus drivers of taking vantage of the hopeless concern travellers recovered themselves in.

"On a mean time the outgo of hiring a autobus is $3,000. As of contiguous radical are paying $40,000 to charter a autobus to the borderline - lone 30km," helium said.

"Who has that benignant of money? The banks were closed, ATM machines are not working," the 53-year-old said.

Meanwhile, Khartoum nonmigratory Hosna, who declined to springiness her surname, told the BBC she had 2 daughters trapped successful the Sudanese capital. She said they faced fares of implicit $400 each to question to the border. Before the warring broke out, the travel outgo astir $25.

Hosna arrived successful the Egyptian metropolis of Aswan earlier the struggle began. "My daughters saw an artillery ammunition autumn successful our neighbourhood. I could not bring them here. I don't person a hubby oregon a lad to assistance them. I enactment time successful time retired to prevention money," she said.

To effort to marque the money, she took a occupation serving successful a beverage store astatine the aforesaid autobus presumption that has go a hub for refugees adjacent Aswan.

"Sudan is wholly destroyed. They [fighters] are targeting radical successful their homes," Hosna said.

Esraa Bani, a Sudanese-American world who has flown to Aswan to assistance radical arriving, said the autobus prices had accrued "astronomically".

"They funded their ain evacuation, they are stripped retired of dignity. It is specified a painfully disastrous situation," she told the BBC.

Clashes betwixt the Sudanese service and paramilitary radical the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began connected 15 April. Hundreds of radical person since died and thousands person been injured successful the conflict.

On Monday the 2 sides agreed a three-day ceasefire that was renewed connected Thursday. Despite this clashes person continued successful immoderate areas.

The warring is devastating the superior and its surrounds - which until precocious had a colonisation of astir 10 cardinal - leaving radical without supplies of food, h2o and fuel.

Mr Atabani said helium had near his location successful Khartoum with conscionable a fewer items of clothing.

"I near Khartoum with each my valuables successful my house. Do I inactive person a location there? God knows astatine the extremity of this. We conscionable grabbed what we could."

Relatives successful the UK accidental repeated efforts to get assistance from the Foreign Office person led nowhere.

Officials person told them that British citizens tin lone beryllium evacuated from the Wadi Seidna airfield adjacent Khartoum, which is simply a perilous two-day autobus travel away.

"It truthful hard to get to that airfield," Mr Atabani told the BBC. "They accidental you spell to the airfield astatine your ain risk, wherefore would I hazard my family?"

In a connection to the BBC, the Foreign Office said it had been "working intensively to evacuate British Nationals, since the outbreak of unit successful Sudan, successful a analyzable and highly volatile environment".

"British Nationals successful Sudan are our utmost precedence and we impulse those who privation to permission the state to question to the British Evacuation Centre arsenic soon arsenic possible. We are incapable to put immoderate assistance with question to the airfield," the connection added.

The Foreign Office said that by Thursday evening 897 radical had been flown retired of Wadi Saeedna airfield.

However the BBC has spoken to a British Sudanese doc who is being evacuated by the RAF successful the eastbound Red Sea metropolis of Port Sudan. There are dozens of British Sudanese citizens who are waiting to beryllium evacuated from Port Sudan, but until present determination person been nary evacuation flights.

Additional reporting by the BBC's Tom Bateman successful Aswan, Egypt