The UK will on Wednesday continue rescue flights for thousands of citizens trapped by an outbreak of fighting in Sudan, as ministers seek to capitalise on a partially holding three-day ceasefire that is due to end within 36 hours.
Three flights carrying several hundred British nationals arrived overnight at a Royal Air Force base in Cyprus. Flightradar24, a flight-tracking website, showed four planes were due to arrive at the base between 1pm and 9pm UK time on Wednesday.
The first evacuation flight left Sudan on Tuesday, after the government appealed to the thousands of British citizens caught up in the fighting to get to an air base near the capital, Khartoum, “as soon as possible” to be rescued. The first UK passport holders are set to arrive at London Stansted airport from Cyprus later on Wednesday.
But the government has faced questions about the relatively small proportion of British nationals rescued so far.
Home secretary Suella Braverman told Sky News on Wednesday that between 200 and 300 people had been rescued. Her comments came after Africa minister Andrew Mitchell estimated that 2,000 of the roughly 4,000 dual UK-Sudanese nationals and 400 UK-only citizens had told authorities that they wanted help to leave.
Wednesday is likely to prove critical to the success of the airlift because the limited 72-hour ceasefire between the rival military groups in Sudan finishes at midnight local time at the end of Thursday.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said on Twitter on Wednesday morning that UK nationals were arriving in Cyprus on military planes, adding: “More flights will follow throughout the day.”
The government is deploying both C-130 Hercules aircraft, which can carry about 100 people, and A400M Atlas planes, which can take about 150.
Conditions in Sudan have become dire since the outbreak of violence on April 15. The country’s armed forces, led by general Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the de facto president, are fighting a group led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the vice-president. Dagalo, known as Hemeti, leads the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group.
Almost 500 people have died in the violence and food, water, medical supplies and power are all in short supply.
The UK has asked nationals to make their way to the Wadi Saeedna airfield, 40km north of central Khartoum, to join the rescue flights.
People in Khartoum have said the journey remains dangerous with fighting continuing despite the ceasefire, while would-be evacuees have also had difficulties in securing petrol to make the trip. The lack of internet access and power has made it difficult to contact those needing help.
Braverman on Wednesday rejected suggestions from Annalena Baerbock, Germany’s foreign minister, that the UK had been too slow to start its rescue effort, which began two days after some other nations.
“A decision has been made on the basis of proper planning and proper assessment of the risks posed in Sudan,” she said, adding that it was right to ask evacuees to get to the airfield themselves.
“This is a standard practice in terms of the advice that the Foreign Office is issuing to British nationals. It’s context-specific.”
Ed Miliband, shadow climate change secretary, conceded that the situation was “complicated”.
“I’m not in the business today of getting into criticising the government,” he told Sky News. “I’m in the business of saying we need a plan from the government to get British citizens out as quickly as possible during the ceasefire window.”