British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has held an emergency meeting to discuss assistance for the British nationals trapped in Sudan as fighting continues in the African country.
The Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) confirmed that the morning meeting in the Cabinet Office saw Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Africa Minister Andrew Mitchell attend.
Government officials said they are “doing everything possible” to support those still inside the country’s capital, Khartoum.
It comes after the Sudanese army said it was coordinating efforts to evacuate American, British, Chinese, and French citizens and diplomats from Sudan on military aircraft as bloody fighting entered its second week.
The FCDO has not confirmed the reports but the PA news agency understands an evacuation is not imminent.
The Sudanese army is battling a powerful rival paramilitary in and around Khartoum.
Prospects of airlifting people out of Sudan have been complicated by the fact most major airports in the country have become battlegrounds and movement out of the capital has proven dangerous.
A UK government spokesman said: “We recognise that the situation is extremely concerning for British nationals trapped by the fighting in Sudan.
“We are doing everything possible to support British nationals and diplomatic staff in Khartoum, and the Ministry of Defence is working with the Foreign Office to prepare for a number of contingencies.”
Those held up in Sudan are advised to register with the FCDO and to stay indoors, with skirmishes taking place even in residential areas.
In the United States, the Pentagon said earlier this week it was moving additional troops and equipment to a naval base in the tiny Gulf of Aden nation of Djibouti to prepare for the evacuation of U.S. embassy personnel.
But the White House said on Friday that it had no plans for a government co-ordinated evacuation of an estimated 16,000 American citizens trapped in Sudan.
Sunak on Friday spoke with the president of Djibouti, Ismail Omar Guelleh.
While no mention of using the nation’s airbases was made in the readout from Downing Street, a No 10 spokesman said the two leaders agreed to “continue to coordinate efforts to de-escalate the violence and protect civilians, including our citizens.”
There are no signs of the trouble abating as yet.
Even as the warring sides said on Friday that they had agreed to a ceasefire for the three-day Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, explosions and gunfire rang out across Khartoum on Saturday.
This happened after the army deployed on foot for the first time in its almost week-long fight with a paramilitary force.
Soldiers and gunmen from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces shot at each other in the north, west, and centre of the city, including during the call for special early morning Eid prayers, witnesses said.
The unabated fighting has killed hundreds.
Two ceasefire attempts earlier this week also rapidly collapsed.
Britain has historic ties to Sudan. In an unusual arrangement, Britain and Egypt jointly ruled Sudan from 1899 until it gained independence in 1956, but Sudan is not among the group of 56 Commonwealth nations.
