Moment gunfire inches closer to Brit’s home in Sudan as UK deploys warships & thousands warned they may NEVER be rescued
A BRIT stranded in warring Sudan has filmed gunfire inching ever closer to his home as he cowers inside hoping to be rescued.
Diplomats and their families were extracted by the SAS but up to 4,000 Britons were left behind as the country descended into chaos.
Other nations including France, Spain and Germany sent flights to bring their citizens home in recent days.
A bloody power struggle has led to heavy bombardment of the capital Khartoum, leaving at least 427 dead and 3,500 injured.
But ministers warned British nationals still trapped in Sudan they might never be rescued.
Development minister Andrew Mitchell told Radio 4 he “cannot give any assurances” on getting them out before a ceasefire.
He is expected to give an update to the Commons later today following an emergency Cobra meeting chaired by foreign secretary James Cleverly.
Desperate Britons have allegedly had to kill their own pets to save them from starving after food and water were cut.
Some said they felt “abandoned”, especially after a special forces mission to rescue 30 embassy staff and their dependents at the weekend.
One Brit said he was staying just yards from the embassy in chaotic Khartoum.
But he was not taken along with the staff to a waiting transport jet.
Another Briton recorded the sound of marauding gunmen opening fire close by in the city of Omdurman.
Gunshots can be heard getting nearer to the house he was sheltering inside with family.
Amar, who lives in Edinburgh and was there visiting relatives, told the BBC the situation is “very scary”.
British-Sudanese writer Rozan Ahmed cowered under a bed for six hours in Khartoum.
She said: “There are rogue soldiers in the streets raiding homes.
“We are terrified to a point where we have gone numb.
“If there is no plan to get me out, please say why?”
William, a UK citizen in Sudan, told the BBC he was forced to “go private” and leave Khartoum on a bus arranged by his Sudanese employer because “we’ve had absolutely nothing but nonsense from the Government”.
Iman Abugarga, a British woman sheltering in Khartoum, said she feels “absolutely” abandoned by the British Government.
“It is shameful how they have mismanaged this situation,” she told the Telegraph.
The government said at least 2,000 UK citizens remain in Sudan, but Alicia Kearns, Tory chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, estimated the figure at “3,000, 4,000 plus”.
Amid mounting pressure, Downing Street said “all avenues” were being explored over how to rescue them.
The PM’s spokesman said: “We will pull every lever possible to help bring about a ceasefire and equally to support British nationals trapped by fighting.”
The Foreign Office urged remaining Britons to “shelter in place” and for warring factions to agree a ceasefire to allow civilians to leave.
Battles have been raging for more than a week between troops loyal to ruler Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and rebels led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo — said to be backed by Russia’s Wagner mercenaries.
Major airports have become battlegrounds and road convoys of Western diplomats and aid workers have come under fire.
The fighting has closed most hospitals and curtailed water and electricity supplies.
Today two Royal Navy ships were reportedly being readied to assist with possible evacuation.
RFA Cardigan Bay and HMS Lancaster are currently moored in Bahrain after exercises in the Middle East.
But it would take three days to sail to Port Sudan on the Red Sea, 500 miles from Khartoum, which has been used by other nations.
The US was also said to be sending warships to the port.
Meanwhile Japan, China, Lebanon and even Russia were today racing to extract their citizens.
Indonesia said 500 of its citizens were evacuated by sea from Port Sudan.
The European Union said more than a thousand people have been extracted through the combined efforts of member states.
France and Germany said a total of 700 people flew out of Khartoum on military jets.
About 50 Irish citizens were evacuated from Khartoum to Djibouti with the support of France and Spain, with more evacuations planned.
And a group of nuns were on board an Italian rescue jet.
As the violence continues, an estimated 30,000 terrified Sudanese have fled to Chad and South Sudan despite the instability there.
Hundreds more including citizens of various foreign nations have arrived across the border in Ethiopia.
