Sudan crisis: NHS doctors told they can catch last UK evacuation flights

The UK authorities has told NHS doctors successful Sudan they tin present drawback evacuation flights retired of the country, successful a U-turn connected its erstwhile policy.

More than 20 NHS medics were initially told they could not committee flights due to the fact that they were not British nationals - though they person UK enactment permits.

The alteration comes conscionable hours earlier the UK's last rescue flights retired of Sudan.

Fighting erupted successful superior Khartoum 2 weeks agone owed to a powerfulness conflict wrong the Sudan's subject leadership.

Countries person been frantically rescuing their citizens, with the latest evacuations happening during a US-brokered ceasefire, which has not held.

On Friday evening, the US besides reportedly started evacuating civilians connected buses - with a convoy carrying immoderate 300 radical leaving Khartoum and heading towards the coastal metropolis of Port Sudan, according to US media. It appears to beryllium the archetypal evacuation of non-diplomat Americans from Sudan.

British nationals and the NHS doctors hoping to permission war-torn Sudan present person until midday section clip (11:00 BST) to scope the Wadi Seidna airfield, with the last formation to depart astatine 18:00 BST connected Saturday.

They person been instructed to marque their ain mode to the airfield.

The Foreign Office said the past flights people "the extremity of a palmy evacuation cognition with 1,573 radical evacuated truthful far", and it was winding up evacuations owed to "declining request for seats".

It added that the UK has "set up a constricted consular beingness astatine Port Sudan to signpost British nationals to disposable options for departure".

Stories emerged this week of NHS doctors being turned distant from the airdrome successful Khartoum - and the Foreign Office repeatedly told the BBC that lone British passport holders and their dependents were capable to get connected the flights.

They insisted anyone with a enactment licence was invited successful the UK, but indispensable marque their ain mode there.

On Friday evening, a connection was circulated by the Department of Health and Social Care to NHS doctors successful Sudan, telling them to marque their mode to Wadi Seidna airfield, conscionable northbound of the capital, for evacuation.

The text, seen by the BBC, tells immoderate aesculapian unit with permission to stay to bring dependents and impervious of NHS employment.

The alteration comes aft the lawsuit of Sudanese doc Dr Abdulrahman Babiker, who was initially refused a spot connected a British evacuation, made headlines.

He told the BBC helium was "really glad" that the UK authorities had changed its guidance - but said determination was "just 1 time only" for his colleagues successful Sudan to marque the past flights.

After helium landed successful Cyprus, helium said helium had "mixed feelings", saying: "I americium blessed that I americium yet successful a harmless place, distant from a warfare and connected my mode backmost to the UK. At the aforesaid clip I consciousness down that my household (my dad, mum, member and sister) are inactive endangered by this deadly warring successful my country.

"I americium reasoning astir them present and trying to enactment retired what I tin bash to assistance them flight the information zone."

The Manchester Royal Infirmary doc is readying to alert to the UK aboriginal and is owed backmost astatine enactment connected Tuesday.

The British Medical Association had called connected the authorities to "ensure each NHS doctors, and their families, including those connected UK visas are evacuated".

Those comments were echoed by Labour shadiness overseas caput David Lammy, who said if determination was a reduced request for evacuation flights portion the ceasefire is ongoing, past the authorities should widen its criteria to see British residents trying to fly Sudan.

He added: "It cannot beryllium close for the authorities to clap for NHS doctors 1 time and past crook them distant from evacuation flights retired of a struggle portion the next."

The UK's evacuations to the RAF basal successful Cyprus began past Tuesday.

Other countries person besides been evacuating their citizens, and the UN exile bureau said astir 33,000 refugees fled from Khartoum to exile camps successful Sudan's White Nile state.

Heavy warring betwixt the Sudanese service and its rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed astatine slightest 512 people, and injured astir 4,200.

Missiles and dense weaponry has besides damaged the country's cardinal infrastructure, including entree to cleanable h2o and the internet. Health officials accidental astir hospitals successful struggle areas are not functioning, and much than 60% of wellness facilities successful the capital, Khartoum, are inactive.

Despite the ceasefire, warring has not travel to a halt and eyewitness person reported warring successful Khartoum, the occidental Darfur portion and different provinces.

The truce - owed to extremity astatine midnight section clip connected Thursday (23:00 BST) - was extended for a further 72 hours.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken - who mediated talks alongside neighbouring countries, the UK and UN - said that portion the ceasefire was imperfect, it had reduced violence.

The UK Foreign Office called the evacuation effort "the longest and largest evacuation effort of immoderate Western country".