Britain’s evacuation of Sudan is OVER, with 2,200 people airlifted out of the war-torn country

Britain has finished evacuating terrified Britons from Sudan, with 2,197 people rescued from the war-torn country in the longest and largest airlift by a Western nation during the crisis.

The last Britons to board the final evacuation flights from the war zone are expected to land in the UK within hours of escaping the terrifying violence wreaking havoc in Sudan.

Over the past week, British soldiers have helped thousands of Britons board more than 20 flights from Wadi Saeedna airbase in Khartoum and Port Sudan, 800 kilometers south of the capital.

A total of 2,197 Britons – many of them young children – have now been evacuated after somehow surviving the nightmarish journey through Sudan’s violent streets to reach the airbases.

And with the last two flights leaving Port Sudan yesterday, the UK’s focus will now turn to the diplomatic and humanitarian response to the bloody conflict sparked by a violent rivalry between two generals, officials said.

Pictured: Military personnel and the last evacuees boarding an RAF aircraft bound for Cyprus on Saturday, during the final days of the evacuations, at Wadi Seidna Air Base in Sudan

In moving scenes, an army medic entertained a baby by raising them in the air at Wadi Saeedna Air Base in Khartoum

Pictured: Smoke rises over buildings after aerial bombings during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in North Khartoum, Sudan, on Monday

While the government said it expects no more flights after the holiday airlifts, the Royal Navy’s warship HMS Lancaster will remain in the Red Sea to support any further evacuation efforts from Sudan.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said: ‘Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of its staff and army, the UK has so far delivered 2,197 people from Sudan to safety – the largest airlift by a Western country.

“While focusing on humanitarian and diplomatic efforts, we will continue to do everything we can to push for a long-term ceasefire and an immediate end to violence in Sudan.”

Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said: “Once again, the men and women of our armed forces have taken the lead.

“In one week the RAF has flown more than 20 sorties, deployed over 1,000 troops, evacuated over 2,000 civilians and helped civilians home from over 20 countries.

“HMS Lancaster will remain in Port Sudan and her crew will continue to provide support.”

In addition to British nationals, the UK assisted in the evacuation of 1,087 people from other countries, including the US, Ireland, the Netherlands, Canada, Germany and Australia.

Following the latest RAF repatriation flights, the Foreign Office said a British team will remain stationed in Port Sudan to provide consular assistance, including to British nationals departing via commercial routes.

The government’s response to the crisis drew criticism last week after officials focused evacuation efforts on rescuing diplomats and their families rather than civilians as well.

A soldier from the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment hugged a toddler on Saturday before the final flight from Wadi Saeedna Air Base in Khartoum

Pictured: Military personnel on board an RAF aircraft bound for Cyprus, during the final days of evacuations, at Wadi Seidna Air Base, Sudan

A soldier of the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment is depicted smiling with the Sudanese locals

A British soldier sticks her tongue out at a boy being carried by his mother before the family boarded the last British flight from Khartoum

British described seen thieves and assassins roam the streets of the capital, with the corpses of civilians killed in the fighting between warring factions lying on the ground in scenes that have been compared to the horror film The Purge.

It is feared that some Britons have been unable to make it to the latest evacuation flights due to the dangerous travel in the country.

An uncertain future awaits those left behind in Sudan.

Fierce fighting between rival generals raged in the country on Tuesday despite the latest ceasefire, as warnings mounted of the potential for a “catastrophic” humanitarian crisis involving hundreds of thousands of refugees.

Bloodshed has gripped Sudan since April 15 when tensions erupted in armed exchanges between regular army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy-turned-rival, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Hundreds have been killed and thousands injured as airstrikes and artillery exchanges gripped large parts of Khartoum, leading to the exodus of thousands of Sudanese to neighboring countries.

Many more cannot afford the arduous journey to Sudan’s borders and are forced to hide in the city of five million people with dwindling supplies of food, water and electricity.

“We hear sporadic gunfire, the roar of a fighter plane and the anti-aircraft fire,” said a South Khartoum resident.

The last evacuees and military personnel board an RAF aircraft bound for Cyprus from Sudan’s Wadi Seidna Air Base on Saturday

Pictured: British citizens from Sudan wait at Wadi Seidna Airport in Khartoum, Sudan before boarding an RAF aircraft bound for Cyprus on Saturday

In a briefing on Monday, Sudan’s top UN aid official, Abdou Dieng, warned that the situation would become “an unmitigated catastrophe.”

Kenyan President William Ruto said the conflict had reached “catastrophic levels” with the warring generals refusing “to heed calls from the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD), the African Union and the international community” to stop the firing. to strike.

In a virtual meeting with senior UN officials, Ruto said it was imperative to find ways to deliver humanitarian aid “with or without a ceasefire.”

Burhan and Daglo, who fell out after staging a 2021 military coup that derailed Sudan’s transition to civilian elective rule, have flouted multiple ceasefires, the latest a 72-hour extension signed late Sunday. agreed.