Britons have just HOURS left to escape war-torn Sudan on evacuation flights, dodging snipers and airstrikes to reach an airport

BROTHERS have just hours left to escape war-torn Sudan as they dodge snipers and airstrikes to reach evacuation flights.

British officials have given the British until noon to reach the airfield on the outskirts of Khartoum.

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Royal Marine Commando and other British armed forces currently hold Wadi Saidna airfield about 14 miles north of Sudanese capital.

And so far, almost 1,600 people were evacuated for 13 flights, they were afraid that there would be thousands more The British were trapped in Sudan.

Travel to airfield potentially dangerous despite renewed reports of heavy collisions a fragile ceasefire.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Department is urging those remaining in Sudan to travel to Wadi Saidna by 12:00 local time to be processed before the last plane leaves.

HMS Lancaster is also on standby should the government decide to open a new evacuation route via Port Sudan.

The sounds of airstrikes, anti-aircraft weapons and artillery could be heard in Khartoum early on Saturday.

Fighting between the army and rival paramilitary forces continued despite yesterday’s announcement of a 72-hour extension of the ceasefire.

Airstrikes, tanks and artillery, along with reports of snipers on the streets, continue to rock Khartoum.

“We woke up again to the sound of fighter jets and anti-aircraft guns firing all over our neighborhood,” said a witness from southern Khartoum.

Another witness said fighting had continued since early morning, particularly around the headquarters of the state broadcaster in the capital’s twin city of Omdurman.

A power struggle between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which erupted into violence on April 15, left hundreds dead and tens of thousands fleeing for their lives.

The fighting has also reignited a two-decade-old conflict in the western Darfur region that has killed dozens this week.

The army is deploying jets and drones against RSF forces in areas across the capital. Many residents are trapped in an urban war with shortages of food, fuel, water and energy.

At least 512 people have been killed and about 4,200 injured, according to the United Nations, which believes the real number is much higher.

And yesterday a The Turkish evacuation plane was shot down when he came to earth, emphasizing the extreme danger of the operation.

However, pictures show British troops working tirelessly to get people, including very young children, onto evacuation planes.

Royal Air Force transport planes fly from Cyprus to Khartoum and back.

The Britons are then flown back to the UK by chartered plane.

Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said rescue operations would be halted after a “significant reduction” in the number of British nationals set to leave the war-torn country.

It comes amid criticism of the pace of the British evacuation.

The rescue mission was given more time after a three-day extension of the ceasefire between the warring generals was agreed on Thursday.

Mr Dowden hit back at accusations that the government would effectively “abandon” those unable to make the potentially dangerous journey with its decision to halt flights.

“I would not agree with such a characterization. The first thing I would like to say is that every British citizen who came forward and their dependents were safely put on the plane,” he said.

“We’re seeing those numbers come down significantly, and like in other countries, as those numbers come down, we’ve put an end date on it.”

He said “consular assistance” would remain available on routes out of the country after evacuation flights ended.

Downing Street has so far rejected calls to extend the right to evacuate beyond British passport holders and their immediate family.

Concerns have been raised that the current approach could lead to families being split up or some members staying behind, with Labor urging ministers to use a longer window to extend the right to evacuate before it is “too late”.

According to the United Nations, more than 75,000 people have been displaced in the first week of fighting in Sudan alone.

In the capital, only 16% of hospitals were working regularly.

The violence has sent tens of thousands of refugees across Sudan’s borders and threatens to destabilize the volatile part of Africa between the Sahel and the Red Sea.

Foreign governments have evacuated diplomats and citizens to safety in the past week, including using airlifts like Britain’s.

One Sudanese man who returned to the UK described his experience as a “nightmare”.

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Speaking outside the airport, he said: “It’s absolutely fantastic to be back. It was a nightmare. We have never seen anything like this before.

“We’ve seen it on TV before, but we never thought it would happen to a peaceful country like Sudan.

“Khartoum is like a ghost town, now everyone is leaving Khartoum.

“We are very grateful to the British servicemen and women who risked their lives to come to Sudan and help us.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has previously warned that Sudan is on the “edge of an abyss” and that violence “could spread throughout the region and beyond”.

The fighting pitted forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against those of his former deputy, Mohammed Hamdan Daghl, who commands the RSF.

As Khartoum airport was shut down after fighting left charred planes on the runway, many foreigners were flown from small airstrips to countries including Djibouti and Jordan.

More than a dozen passenger planes were damaged on the runway when collisions occurred at the commercial airport.

Experts have been investigating the connection between the RSF and Wagner’s Russian mercenary group for a long time. Earlier on Monday, Blinken expressed “deep concern” that Wagner risks escalating the war in Sudan.

The military overthrew Bashir in April 2019 after mass protests by citizens raised hopes of a democratic transition.

The two generals seized power in a 2021 coup, but later parted ways, the last time over the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army.

Those Sudanese who can afford it also flee from Khartoum in overcrowded buses to the more than 900 kilometers of desert north to Egypt.

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