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Sudan war: UK accused of racism over 'abandoned' nationals

Tuesday, 25 April 2023 5:52 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 25 April 2023 6:53 PM ]

Robert Carter

PRESS TV, London

The UK government has come under fire over accusations they have “abandoned” UK nationals amid rising violence in Sudan.

Close to 4000 British Passport holders are believed to remain stranded in the Muslim-majority country. British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly was forced to admit that Britain’s ability to help remains “severely limited” unless a ceasefire is reached.

Criticism has grown sharply over Britain’s handling of the crisis following news of a special night-time rescue mission to secure the safe evacuation of UK diplomats and their families on April 23rd. Some have even gone so far as to question whether the treatment of these UK nationals would have been different if their place of origin hadn’t been, say, in Europe rather than a Muslim-majority African country.

UK troops have been flown into Sudan, awaiting a chance to begin evacuations. Rival military factions agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire from Monday night in the country, where at least 400 people have been killed in fighting since 15 April.

So far, 2000 nationals have reached out for help, but thousands more have yet to do so. The shutdown of the embassy, poor communication, and regularly failed ceasefire attempts are contributing to the crisis. Suggesting few lessons had been learned after a similarly scandalous exit from Afghanistan.

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