Sudan fighting: Bittersweet ending for one family fleeing conflict

The mobile telephone footage is wobbly arsenic Azza weaves her mode done the assemblage to the doorway of the Coral Hotel successful Port Sudan.

"Are determination immoderate unit present from the British embassy?" the 39-year-old parent of 3 asks the antheral astatine the door.

He holds the doorway unfastened conscionable capable to perceive the question - but not capable to fto her in. "Those radical packed up and near yesterday," helium replies.

All astir Azza, radical are crowded connected the steps of the hotel.

It is wherever the UN has its headquarters, and the British Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) precocious acceptable up a impermanent consular bureau to assistance British nationals trying to fly Sudan.

Many beryllium connected chairs successful the shadiness of the building's portico, seeking alleviation from the Sun, clutching mobile phones and folders afloat of documents.

They each privation to get retired of the state portion they can.

It's Thursday greeting and Azza and the children person been determination since the erstwhile day. They are desperate.

But the past British formation has near and the British consular beingness seems to person disappeared.

A fewer hours later, the FCDO question proposal leafage for Sudan, which had pointed would-be evacuees to the edifice since flights from Khartoum ended earlier successful the week, abruptly changes.

It present reads: "Due to the changing information situation successful Port Sudan, we bash not person a beingness astatine the Coral Hotel."

For Azza, a British citizen, a doorway has been slammed shut.

Azza writes an anguished statement: "I privation to explicit my vexation and disappointment with the British government's handling of the caller evacuation efforts successful Sudan.

"I was told that my children would beryllium allowed to question with maine retired of this war-torn state to the information of Britain."

Her connection describes an 11-hour travel from Shendi, northbound of Khartoum, with warplanes flying overhead, and the disappointment of being rejected astatine the Coral Hotel.

"To our daze and dismay, we were told we could not travel," she writes, adding: "The British government's proposal had been misleading, and we were near stranded successful a unsafe concern with nary wide guidance oregon support."

Her hubby Ahmed Abuelgasim, who is backmost successful Khartoum, spoke to maine from his car successful al-Manshiya, a neighbourhood eastbound of Khartoum International Airport.

The 46-year-old businessman said the warring adjacent made him excessively tense to beryllium successful the apartment.

Ahmed grew up successful westbound London. His begetter was an engineering manager for Sudan Airways astatine Heathrow Airport.

After studying engineering astatine Kingston University, the household returned to Sudan. Ahmed's 3 older brothers near successful 1989, erstwhile Sudan's democratically-elected authorities was overthrown by Omar al-Bashir.

While they settled successful the UK, Ahmed stayed successful Khartoum and ne'er bothered to get a British passport.

Azza was calved successful 1983, successful Dorchester, wherever her begetter worked arsenic a psychiatrist. As a kid calved successful the UK to parents with indefinite permission to remain, she was automatically a British citizen.

Azza and Ahmed tried to get their children British passports past twelvemonth - but the process was analyzable and costly truthful they gave up, intending to effort again different time.

They were not readying to determination to the UK but, with Sudan's troubled caller history, thought it would beryllium omniscient to person options.

"Lots of radical person UK passports, but don't privation to unrecorded there," Ahmed explained, adding: "It's a harmless haven to go."

Then abruptly it was excessively late.

With warring raging astir them, they decided Azza and the kids should leave.

By now, the UK airlift from Wadi Saedna was drafting to a close. When they contacted the FCDO hotline, they were advised to marque their mode to Port Sudan, astir 805km (500 miles) away.

They explained the children were not UK citizens and had nary UK visas - and that Azza's passport was locked successful a harmless astatine the slope wherever she works arsenic a fiscal analyst. The warring meant it was excessively unsafe to retrieve it.

Ahmed says the authoritative they spoke to said it would not beryllium a occupation - Azzas's details were successful the strategy and the FCDO's situation question proposal suggested that children nether 18 mightiness qualify.

He recovered a car consenting to thrust his household done the night, paying $2,000 (£1,582) for a travel that would usually outgo $50 each by bus.

But erstwhile they reached Port Sudan, their hopes were shattered.

Arriving astatine the Coral Hotel connected Wednesday, up of a 10:00 (08:00 GMT) deadline for British nationals to register, Azza was told she could committee a formation - but the children could not.

"If I hadn't received the invitation, judge me, I wouldn't person sent my kids retired successful the mediate of the night," Ahmed said.

It seems the mates missed a spot of antithetic proposal which appeared connected the perpetually changing Sudan leafage of the FCDO website earlier successful the week.

Evacuation was unfastened to children nether 18, it stated, "who are either non-visa nationals oregon those with existing UK introduction clearance".

Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said past period that borderline unit force were "empowered to workout discretion" erstwhile it came to dependents.

At the Coral Hotel, Azza was told that, had she arrived with toddlers, determination would person been nary problem.

The velocity of events successful Sudan implicit the past 3 weeks has been astir intolerable to support up with. Evacuation plans person had to beryllium developed from scratch, question proposal revised again and again.

But connected Friday afternoon, acknowledgment to the involution of the erstwhile British Ambassador to Sudan, Irfan Siddiq, Azza and the children boarded a Spanish vessel bound for Jeddah, wherever a formation volition instrumentality them connected to Cyprus and the UK.

It is simply a bittersweet infinitesimal for Ahmed. His household volition soon beryllium reunited with relatives successful the UK - but helium has nary thought erstwhile helium volition spot them next.

"I truly don't privation to beryllium reasoning astir that now," helium tells me. "I conscionable privation them to beryllium safe."