Britain’s evacuation from Sudan is over, with 2,200 people airlifted out of the war-torn country – more than any other country rescued

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

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

Over the past week, British soldiers have helped thousands of Britons board more than 20 flights from Wadi Saeedna air base 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, having somehow survived the nightmare journey through Sudan’s violent roads to reach air bases.

And with the last two flights departing Port Sudan yesterday, Britain’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: Service members and the final evacuees board an RAF plane bound for Cyprus at Wadi Seidna Air Base in Sudan on Saturday, in the final days of the evacuations

In moving scenes, an army medic entertains a baby by lifting it at Wadi Saeedna Air Base in Khartoum

Pictured: Smoke billows over buildings after airstrikes during clashes between paramilitary rapid support forces and the army in northern Khartoum, Sudan, on Monday

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

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

“While we focus 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 the 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 flew more than 20 sorties, deployed more than 1,000 troops, evacuated more than 2,000 civilians and helped civilians home from more than 20 countries.

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

In addition to British nationals, the UK helped evacuate 1,087 people from other countries, including the US, Ireland, the Netherlands, Canada, Germany and Australia.

Following recent RAF repatriation flights, the Foreign Office said a British team would remain based in Port Sudan to provide consular support, including for British nationals departing via commercial routes.

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

A soldier from the Duke of Lancaster’s regiment hugs a baby before the final flight from Wadi Saeedna air base in Khartoum on Saturday

Pictured: Military personnel board an RAF plane bound for Cyprus in the final days of evacuations at Wadi Seidna Air Base in Sudan

A soldier from the Duke of Lancaster’s regiment is pictured smiling with Sudanese locals

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

British described saw thieves and assassins roaming the streets of the capital as the bodies of civilians killed in the fighting between opposing factions lie on the ground in scenes that have been compared to the horror film The Purge.

It is feared that some Britons were unable to make the final evacuation flights due to dangerous travel in the country.

An uncertain future awaits those left behind in Sudan.

Fierce fighting between rival generals raged on Tuesday despite the country’s 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 clashes between regular army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy-turned-rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who heads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Hundreds were killed and thousands injured as airstrikes and artillery strikes swept across much of Khartoum, prompting the migration of thousands of Sudanese to neighboring countries.

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

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

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

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

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

Kenyan President William Ruto said the conflict had reached “catastrophic proportions” as the warring generals refused to heed calls from the Intergovernmental Agency for Development (IGAD), the African Union and the international community to cease firing.

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

Burhan and Daglo, who fell out after a military coup in 2021 that derailed Sudan’s transition to civilian electoral rule, have flouted several ceasefires, most recently a 72-hour extension signed late Sunday.