Eritrea accused of forcibly repatriating civilians caught up in Sudan fighting

More than 3,500 refugees are said to have been forcibly deported over the border in recent weeks

When fighting broke out between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group in Khartoum in mid-April, Eritrean brothers Abdel and Dahlak* said goodbye to each other in the Sudanese capital.

Dahlak, the younger of the two, had some savings, so could afford to flee the city on a bus with other Eritreans. He headed east towards refugee camps in the vicinity of Kassala, a town near the Eritrean border that is home to a large Eritrean community.

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Home Office accused of being ‘unashamedly racist’ towards Sudanese

Experts believe the UK has adopted a segregated immigration policy which favours those fleeing Ukraine

The Home Office has been accused of operating an “unashamedly racist” refugee system after refusing to offer people fleeing fighting in Sudan a safe and legal route to the UK, in stark contrast to the schemes offered to those escaping the war in Ukraine.

With the final evacuation flight from Khartoum to the UK having left last week, a lack of options from the UK government has crystallised concern that it has adopted a segregated immigration policy. No safe and legal routes have been made available to help Sudanese refugees flee and there is no sign of an announcement outlining a new scheme to deal with the fallout of the conflict.

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Sudan’s warring sides arrive in Saudi Arabia for talks as fighting rages on

US and Riyadh confirm talks amid reports of more airstrikes and gun battles in Khartoum despite threat of sanctions

Sudan’s rival factions have arrived in Saudi Arabia for direct talks, after three weeks of clashes in the capital, Khartoum, and the south-western region of Darfur that have killed at least hundreds and wounded many more.

Representatives of the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were in Jeddah on Saturday for “pre-negotiation talks” aimed at establishing a durable ceasefire that would allow aid to reach millions of desperate civilians trapped by the fighting.

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Sudan’s neighbours have little to offer refugees, warns UN

Thousands of Sudanese are crossing borders into countries already severely stressed by drought, conflicts and food insecurity, say UN officials

The UN is in a race against time to get food supplies to Sudanese refugees crossing the border into Chad before the rainy season begins, as neighbouring countries struggle to cope with the numbers of people fleeing the civil war.

More than 110,000 people are now estimated to have crossed into other countries as patchy ceasefires fail to stop deadly clashes between Sudanese army troops and a paramilitary rival that have killed hundreds and forced more than 330,000 from their homes.

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‘Not safe for us’: Sudanese in north Africa warn fleeing relatives of danger

People who sought route to Europe before fighting erupted in Khartoum speak of police brutality, torture and homelessness

Ever since fighting erupted in his home town of Nyala, the state capital of South Darfur in Sudan, in mid-April, Khaled’s mobile phone has not stopped ringing. Family members, friends and acquaintances want to know how to reach north Africa and which country is best for departing for Europe.

The 17-year-old, currently living in the Tunisian capital, Tunis, wishes he could tell them that the journey is simple and that countries like Tunisia and Libya are welcoming and safe.

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Fighting intensifies in Sudan’s capital as US warns of new sanctions

Clashes continue around presidential palace in Khartoum despite international calls to end hostilities

Fighting in Sudan has intensified as warring factions seek to secure strategic locations, as pressure grows from international powers to end hostilities and allow humanitarian assistance to reach millions of desperate civilians.

Fierce battles on Thursday between the Sudanese army and its paramilitary opponents, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), reminded residents in Khartoum, the capital, of the fierce combat that marked the first days of the war almost three weeks ago.

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Britons trapped in Sudan say relatives were not allowed on flights

Foreign Office accused of creating ‘confusion’ during evacuation, with some struggling to get visas or prove citizenship

British people trapped in Sudan have described being forced to make impossible choices about whether to fly home without family members the UK government will not allow on flights.

Suleiman, a British national who asked to withhold his family name, said a British official had called him to say he could be evacuated with his two children only if he left his pregnant wife behind. His children are also British nationals, and their mother is a Sudanese citizen.

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Aid agencies in Sudan plead with factions to allow supplies to reach needy

Six trucks of humanitarian supplies looted while airstrikes in Khartoum undermine ceasefire

Aid agencies are pleading with battling factions in Sudan to allow humanitarian assistance to reach the needy, after six trucks of humanitarian supplies were looted and airstrikes in Khartoum undermined a new ceasefire.

Martin Griffiths, the UN’s emergency relief coordinator, said on Wednesday he was seeking assurances that would allow for movement of staff and supplies.

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Last UK rescue flight from Sudan to take off on Wednesday

Foreign secretary says there will be no further British evacuation flights from wartorn Port Sudan

The final UK rescue flight from Sudan is expected to take off on Wednesday, the government has said.

The foreign secretary, James Cleverly, said British nationals who wanted to leave the country need to make their way to the Coral hotel in Port Sudan by 10am local time (9am BST), adding that there would be no further British evacuation flights from the city.

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Final UK evacuation flight from Sudan expected to leave on Wednesday

James Cleverly urges British nationals still wanting to leave the war-torn nation to make their way to Port Sudan

The final UK evacuation flight is expected to take off from Sudan on Wednesday, the foreign secretary has announced.

James Cleverly urged British nationals still wanting to leave the war-torn nation to make their way to Port Sudan.

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Khartoum hospitals being hit as Sudan fighting intensifies

Several people killed outside East Nile hospital as civilian groups step in to help people caught in conflict

Fierce street fighting, including the use of heavy weaponry and artillery fire, has consumed central Khartoum as worsening violence tests a deteriorating ceasefire.

Volleys of airstrikes and sounds of gunfire were audible in Khartoum’s twin city, Omdurman, overnight as clashes raged throughout the capital, and were particularly heavy in areas around major government and military infrastructure in the city centre.

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Europe warily eyes security implications of a protracted conflict in Sudan

Long dispute creates unwanted uncertainties as increased migration and outside actors enter the conflict

Fears remain that Sudan – riven by fighting between the Sudanese army and its paramilitary rival, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – could plunge into a protracted crisis, prompting a humanitarian disaster with broad geopolitical implications.

A string of failed or divided states already exist on Europe’s peripheries, a crescent of instability that stretches from the African Sahel, Libya, through to Yemen, Syria, and north into Ukraine, three countries where extended wars have been raging.

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Medics in Sudan warn of crisis as health system near collapse

Critical shortages of basic goods including water, and bodies piling in streets creating ‘environmental catastrophe’

Sudanese medics have described seeing piles of bodies in the streets of the capital, Khartoum, people drinking polluted water, and doctors working under bombardments as the battle between the country’s two warring generals continues despite a threadbare ceasefire.

Intense explosions and shelling were audible in Omdurman, Khartoum’s twin city across the Nile, on Monday and there were reports of further explosions and clashes in the Bahri and Kafouri districts of Khartoum North. In the south of Khartoum, residents reported that the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fired anti-aircraft missiles in response to bombardments by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).

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UK forces to oversee another evacuation flight from Sudan

Unclear whether all British evacuees will be able to reach Port Sudan, more than 500 miles from Khartoum

British forces will oversee an additional evacuation flight out of Sudan as fighting continues to rage in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.

British passport holders, as well as doctors with leave to remain in the UK and their dependents, were told to arrive at Port Sudan international airport on the Red Sea coast before midday local time (11am BST).

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Sudan rivals trade blame as fighting continues despite ceasefire extension

New UN envoy to the region warns that humanitarian situation is ‘reaching breaking point’

Sudan’s rival military forces have accused each other of violating a fresh ceasefire as the deadly conflict rumbles on for a third week despite warnings of a slide towards civil war.

Both sides said a formal ceasefire agreement that was due to expire at midnight would be extended for a further 72 hours. The army said it hoped what it called the “rebels” would abide by the deal but it believed they had intended to keep up attacks. The parties have kept fighting through a series of ceasefires over the past week.

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UK government extends Sudan evacuation with additional flight

FCDO asks any British nationals hoping to leave war-torn country to reach airport in Port Sudan by noon local time on Monday

The UK government has announced plans to carry out an additional evacuation flight from Sudan on Monday, after previously suggesting that efforts to bring British nationals out of the war-torn country had concluded.

In a statement on Sunday, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) urged any UK nationals still hoping to leave Sudan to make their way to the airport in Port Sudan, on the Red Sea coast, by noon local time (11am BST) on 1 May.

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Civilians attacked in Darfur region as Sudan fighting escalates

UN refugee agency ‘extremely concerned’ about effect on ‘fragile’ region, as evidence emerges of widespread destruction

Fighting has erupted in Sudan’s Darfur region – including the use of heavy weaponry, and attacks on civilians and essential healthcare infrastructure – escalating a crisis now in its third week that was sparked by two rival generals.

Across the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, the sound of gunfire echoed through the streets throughout Sunday and airstrikes hit its twin city Omdurman.

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Sudan former PM warns of civil war that would be ‘nightmare for the world’

Abdalla Hamdok, who resigned in January last year, says conflict could spiral into bigger crisis than Syria, Yemen or Libya

Sudan’s former prime minister Abdalla Hamdok has warned that the conflict in the turbulent African nation could deteriorate to one of the world’s worst civil wars if it is not stopped early.

More than 500 people have been killed since battles erupted on 15 April between the forces of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his number two Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, commonly known as Hemedti, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

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Married NHS doctors stranded in Sudan with their four young children

Sarra Eljak and Mustafa Abbas missed the last flight as 220km trip to airbase was too dangerous for their children

A couple who both work for the NHS missed the last UK evacuation flight out of Sudan on Saturday, believing the journey to be “too dangerous”.

The doctors must now find an alternative means of fleeing the war-torn country.

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Sudanese army blocks Britons from boarding last rescue flights

Nearly 1,900 have been evacuated, says UK government, but final flight has yet to leave Khartoum

Britons are feared to have been stranded in Sudan following reports that the country’s armed forces had prevented a number of people from reaching the last rescue flights out of the war-torn country on Saturday.

On Saturday night, it was announced that 1,888 people on 21 flights have been evacuated from Sudan – the vast majority of them British nationals and their dependents – but the last flight was yet to leave despite being scheduled to depart at 6pm.

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